Enter the World
by VirchowsTriadDuet
Summary: Sam's gonna be a dad, and soon, whether he's ready or not. Trouble is, there's a demon who thinks his child belongs to her. It's up to Sam and Dean to keep the baby and his or her mother out of harm's way until the demon and her many followers can be dealt with. But with Cas down for the count and the odds stacked against them, it's not looking good for Sam and Ali.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Vivi here! NEW FIC! This one takes place a few hours after Family Practice ended because I'm the kind of author who hates big time jumps for some reason (I'm working on that though). Yes, this is a continuation of two earlier stories. I'm trying to write this one so that if you haven't read both Internal Medicine (which introduces our protagonists, antagonist, and plotline) and Family Practice (which clarifies the plotline to this fic and develops the characters a bit more, also introduces our second antagonist) you should still be able to follow along. That being said, it will mean so much more if you take the time to read those two MASSIVE fics before this one. If you say to yourself 'Self, I'm a busy person and I really don't want to read a story with 118,009 words and another with 209,977 words before I start this one', then I'll give you a quick summary (the very next paragraph in this author's note) before I plunge you into the lives of Sam, Dean, and my OC, Ali (who is called Ali by Sam, and Li (pronounced Lee) by Dean, for reasons explained in Internal Medicine).**

 **Summary of Internal Medicine (without spoilers): Ali was a medical student when she was possessed by a demon named Francesca. Cas saves her (see my fic titled Saving Allison) and brings her to the Winchesters for help. She lives with them at the bunker for five months in suffocating fear before they really get to know each other. From there it's a whirlwind of wendigoes, a de-aged character, a weakened angel, some more-than-friendly bonding, bloody pants, and one mysterious bright spot on Ali's soul.**

 **Summary of Family Practice (this has some spoilers for IM, so if you want to read Internal Medicine, _turn back now_!): Ali's pregnant. Cas knows it. She knows it. She makes Cas promise not to let the Winchesters know it. They train her up as a hunter, causing some scary situations, near-misses, awkward heart to hearts, and heart-warming bonding before she's allowed to help them on cases. Her first real, big case turns out to be a little more than she can handle. She couldn't hide the baby forever, after all. The main plotline of FP wraps up with a neat, happy, pretty little bow in the last chapter.**

 **This new fic, Enter the World, is a continuation of the loose ends left in IM and FP (if you couldn't already guess). I'm not sure how long it will be; I've only got the first two chapters written. But it certainly won't be short! I'm not into that sort of thing.**

 **Just FYI, this is an AU timeline. It diverged sometime during season four, the guys got the bunker way earlier, and the year is 2010. Dean is 31, Sam is 27, Ali is 25. It's early September-ish when this fic starts.**

 ** _Warnings_ for language (just expect that in all the following chapters, half the time I can't remember if I've thrown those words in or not), references to rape, self-harm, and miscarriage, violence, abuse, pregnancy, kidnapping, and sex. If any of these are a problem for you, it's not worth reading this story. Your health and wellness should come first!**

 **And by the way, the first scene or two are purely dialogue; the whole fic is NOT like that. I promise.**

 **Now, to those of you who are returning to continue reading my words, welcome back! I've missed you! Please enjoy 'Enter the World'.**

* * *

"Took you long enough."

"You ever replace an oil filter on a car from the dinosaur age, Princess?"

"I'm still not a princess, and no. Can't say that I have."

"Exactly. And you didn't even have to learn that valuable skill 'cuz motor oil is _teratogenic._ How's the view from that pedestal, Your Highness?"

"Dean, it wasn't even that hard. It only took us like ten minutes and half of that was you bitching at me for spilling some oil on the floor. And in case you haven't noticed, Ali is definitely not on a pedestal here. Ever wonder why our shirts don't smell like beer anymore? Yeah, that's because she doesn't use alcohol to iron when she does laundry."

"You could have ironed your own shirts, Sam. You're just taking her side because she has you wrapped around her little finger. I bet you're glad we were sentenced to all the heavy duty chores."

"I am. Unlike her, we can't kill the baby by breathing in chemicals or lifting things over ten pounds. Y'know what? Can we just go already? Arguing isn't helping anything. We're just wasting time."

"Oh, now both of you are trying to rush me?"

"Dude. Seriously? Just because you're sick doesn't mean you can turn into a frickin' drama queen. I'm sick, too, remember? Do you see me having a meltdown?"

"Yeah but you don't have the pukes, Sam."

"I have a fever and a headache to kill a rawhead, but no, I have not been puking. And you haven't thrown up in hours, dude. You probably had some kind of twenty four hour bug."

"Don't belittle my condition."

"Guys, can we just go? We really do need to get Sam's fever down and we ran out of ibuprofen earlier."

"Y'know what? Whatever. Load up, we're wasting daylight."

* * *

"Alcohol?"

"No."

"Meds?"

"Just safe ones."

"Vitamins?"

"Yes."

"Never saw any around."

"I hid them in an aspirin bottle in my sock drawer."

"Why hide 'em? You could have taken vitamins and that wouldn't have been weird at all."

"It says 'prenatal' in big red letters on the bottle _and_ on the capsule itself."

"What about doctors? Have you seen anyone yet?"

"Just Cas. He, uh, he knows when something happens to the baby. That's what my latest tattoo does; it links Cas and the kid so he can help out if anything goes wrong."

"How long has Cas known?"

"He was the one who told me. He saw the new soul right after he got his juice back. Y'know, when the Cas-plosion happened and that book hit my head?"

"Seriously? Gonna kick some halo-ass here pretty soon."

"Dean, cool it. At least she had _someone_ to monitor the baby."

"I'm just sayin', _someone_ should have told us."

"Dude, she said she was scared. Don't be a jerk about it."

"I also made Cas promise not to tell you."

"Why?"

"I wasn't sure you'd want to be a part of his life."

"Ali, of course we would. You're already family. That kid is guilty by association."

"Yeah, you've known you're family for a while now. Why wouldn't you ask for help, Li? I mean, come on. The nausea, the cramps, the cravings; those were kind of hard to miss."

"You- you noticed that stuff?"

"Your 'stomach issue' cover went further than you'd think."

"I knew it all along."

"Dean, shut up. You did not."

"Well I was thinkin' it."

"But you didn't do anything about it."

"I asked a couple times. She said she wasn't."

"No, I didn't. I just accused you of accusing me of being pregnant all the time. That usually steered the conversation in my favor. I didn't lie to you."

"…clever girl."

"Look, we all know it would have been helpful to acknowledge the kid as soon as someone knew about him, but what matters is that we know now. And it's only been twelve weeks."

"I just can't wrap my head around the fact that you _voluntarily_ went through training- intense, dangerous training- while carrying a tiny human around inside you. I could've killed him during any one of our combat sessions. He could've died when you fell in that grave. What if a demon hurt you when we were clearing Bobby's house? You were _drugged_ on the last case. Y'know, I can't even count how many times that kid has been in danger. And you know what it would feel like if we found out you miscarried because we didn't know about that baby?"

"…You'd feel like you killed him yourselves."

"Damn straight."

"I was careful, okay? I didn't take unnecessary risks and-"

"I think I'd call hand to hand combat training, digging a grave in the rain, taking down a demon _and_ a shifter solo, investigating a gross, sweaty, alcohol fueled club _knowing_ you might get attacked or freakin' drugged, and, oh, I don't know, attempting to take down a siren with your bare hands _unnecessary risks._ "

"Dean."

"What, Sam?"

"It's over. So get over it."

"Bitch."

"Whatever, dude. Look, Ali, I'm not saying I condone what you did, but I understand why you did it. I wouldn't want to be isolated for weeks on end either. But if you'd have just let us know what was going on, we could have been more careful. We could have provided for you, chosen safer cases-"

"I didn't want to be treated any differently. I'm not some delicate little princess who has to be kept in a tower. Tell me, honestly, what would you have done if I would have told you guys I was in the family way when Cas first told me?"

"You'd have been grounded. Bunker nerd 'til that kid could go to school."

"Dean, c'mon. Not helping. Ali, you know you could have taken up another role. Less foot soldier and more… brains of the operation. Bobby taught you- hell, he taught all of us- how to research for cases and help on the fly. You didn't have to be with us in the field all the time."

"So, basically, I'd be an isolated bunker nerd."

"Yeah, but at Bobby's house. No way would we leave you unprotected. And if we did, knowing you, you'd just try to follow us. Couldn't take the risk, Li."

"Now Bobby's house is my tower, huh, Dean?"

"Guess that makes Bobby a dragon, don't it?"

"Okay, it doesn't matter what we _could_ have done. Let's focus on what we do now."

"Well, now we're on our way to pick up baby fertilizer and fat pants."

"We're going to the store for tissues and cold meds, Dean. For you and Sam. And I'm well stocked in the vitamin department, thank you very much."

"But you're starting to show, right? Your belly is getting bigger?"

"Yeah…"

"So, maternity clothes. We get them now _before_ you need them and have to walk around looking like Chunk all the time."

"Did you really just make a Goonies reference?"

"It's a valid comparison. Don't hate on the little dudes."

"I didn't say a word."

"I won't need new clothes for like eight weeks, Dean. He's not growing that fast."

"I stand by my plan of action."

"Whatever."

"Should we get pickles and fries and milkshakes while we're in town, too?"

"Don't mock me, Winchester."

"We do need to think of something for dinner. Anything sound good, Ali?"

"You're just trying to butter her up, aren't ya? None of that funny business in the bunker while I'm around."

"Dude, shut up."

"Uh, too late."

"Aw, c'mon! That's weird!"

"Did you hear it? Did you even know?"

"No!"

"Then I don't see how you would know about it if it happens again."

"Do not. Even. Think about it."

"Dean, you're gonna miss the turn-"

I was half certain that the little red car was up on two wheels as Dean made the hard right into the parking lot of the local superstore. "No backseat drivers."

I just rolled my eyes. "I'm literally right beside you, in the front seat."

"We have to be quick in there, okay?" Sam started. "The last thing we need is to be ID-ed in our hometown."

"What do we need, exactly?" I crossed my arms, trying to make a little more room in the tiny two seater. Not an easy task with two obnoxiously tall, solidly built people encroaching on you from both sides. Dean pulled into a parking space, far from most of the vehicles so our only remaining car wouldn't get scratched. We'd had to listen to him throw a mini-fit over Cas leaving his Baby in Utah when he zapped us out of danger after the last case, but he got over it quickly enough when Sam said they'd go get it as soon as they could.

"Tissues, cold meds…" Dean started. "Pepto. And lemon juice."

"Lemon juice? For what?" I asked, boggled by the bizarre request.

"Morning sickness."

"M-morning sickness? Dean, is there something you aren't telling us?" Sam asked, a huge grin on his face.

Dean might have blushed, just a little. "I might have read a couple things on the internet. Said it could help. Sue me."

"Thanks, Dean." My heart kind of melted. _Cas couldn't have picked a better family to plop me into._

Sam shook his head and laughed. "I need ibuprofen, coffee, milk, and apples."

"Health nut."

"Well, we ran out of cereal this morning, and I need lotion and cheap flip flops."

"Flip flops?"

"Easy to put on. Think about it."

"Right."

"You don't want one of those baby name books?" Dean sent his best shit-eating grin at me through the rearview mirror.

In all honesty, I hadn't even thought about a name yet. "I- uh- I don't think I'm ready for that yet."

"We've got a while before any of that needs to happen." Sam said, sensing my discomfort. "Let's just get this over with."

Our game plan was to split up- Dean to the pharmacy section and Sam and I to the market section. I knew Dean wouldn't let me go off on my own, which was probably a smart thing, but I wanted so badly to make a scene. Trouble was, I was so tired of arguing. And I would get to spend more time with Sam, which was something I still craved, especially after last night.

"Okay, so Dean's getting the medicines, tissues, and lotion, right?"

"Yup." I replied, lazily taking in the huge store, which was as empty as I would expect for mid-afternoon on a weekday. Housewives browsed cheap clothing and wine while their children hid in the clothing racks and ran, some of them screaming or yelling, through the aisles.

"He won't be like that, right?" Sam watched a kid run into a nearby aisle, followed closely by her mother, who was pleading for her to stop and quiet down. Sam looked mildly terrified.

"At some point, yes. He will be. All kids are. But it doesn't last, especially if the parents are attentive and consistent. We'll be fine." I said, tugging his hand away from the scene and towards the produce section. "How's that shoulder?" I asked, trying to get his mind off of the impending doom he was probably feeling. _Ah, fatherhood._

"It, uh, it's okay. Dean just bruised it. The sling helps but I won't need it for very long. So, he's really going to do that?"

"Relax, Sam. One step at a time."

We picked up the apples and coffee, then the lemon juice and milk. Our last stop was the cereal aisle; we paused just inside, to get out of the way of a mother and her three children. The object of our quest just so happened to be right where we stopped. "Do you like the stuff we've been getting? Cuz it's too sugary for me and I don't think-"

"Run!" I instinctively grabbed Sam's arm as he leaned out of the aisle to look around the corner. Alarmed, I moved to see what was going on.

There was Castiel, sprinting at us from far down the main aisle.

He ran headlong into an overweight woman as she hurried out to see what was going on.

Actually, scratch that. He tackled the woman and stabbed her with his knife. Light literally left her eyes and flashed a few times before she went limp.

"Sam." I gasped and pulled hard on his sleeve, putting us both into motion, sprinting back down the cereal aisle. "Ambush."

A middle aged man with black eyes blocked our escape route; I slowed. This time, Sam grabbed ahold of me and kept right on going.

He had the knife. _The_ knife. I'd asked a few times why they always insisted on having it with them. Now I knew.

The man was dispatched and we heard screaming from the far side of the store. Then someone was yelling something about an ambulance from near where Cas was before we ran. "Not good. Not good." I panted, trying to see all around us as we made our way to the exit.

Apparently I wasn't a very good lookout.

Something grabbed my free arm and jerked me backwards, breaking Sam's grip. I fell to my knees, but something hauled me to my feet and started dragging me away backwards. Sam slid to a stop on the polished concrete floor before coming back at us.

I suppressed a scream as Sam ran at me with murder in his eyes. My whole body went rigid and my eyes slammed shut, bracing for the impact I knew was coming. Adrenaline flooded my body, but still, I couldn't move. _Get out of the way, move, run, he'll kill you! He'll kill you both!_ Images of that club, the blood on the floor, the dying siren, Sam standing over me, kicking me, killing me; all of it flooded my head and paralyzed me.

The hand on my arm fell away with the gurgling sounds of death and was replaced by a bigger one. It pulled, but I couldn't move aside from the strong tremble that had begun to make my body useless.

"No, Ali, it's me. It's Sam. Please don't do this now. Not now." The hand pulled harder and I stumbled forward, almost losing my balance. The only think keeping me upright as I ran was that hand.

"Stop."

I peeled my eyes open and there, in front of us, beyond Sam, stood an employee of the store. Just a kid, probably not even twenty one yet. His eyes flashed black and part of me mourned for his loss. He didn't deserve this.

Sam and I cringed as a loud, piercing ring popped a few lights. Then a burst of pure white had us looking away, covering our eyes. The ground even shook a little.

"Cas." Sam whispered, horror in his voice.

Something hard and heavy hit the back of my head. I was gone.

* * *

Gasping for breath, my eyes flew open, closing immediately when water flooded them. I went to wipe the stuff away, but I couldn't. My hands were tied in front of me with zipties. My feet were bound at the ankles. Slowly, I pushed myself up to sit, momentarily getting lost in the pounding in my head.

Dread settling in my stomach, I looked around. Three people, a tall woman and two average men in employee uniforms, surrounded me. One behind me, the others to my sides. We were still in the store, but only a few lights still flickered overhead. Most of the illumination in the building came from skylights, giving the place an eerie, otherworldly glow.

Directly in front of me was another set of demons- I was just assuming that everyone left in the store was a demon now- standing over something else on the floor. There were eight of them there, all facing inwards, whereas my watchers were all facing that circle, like I was.

I jumped when the sound of a struggle started up behind me. To my horror, I watched two demons in big guys- wearing biker gear- as they dragged Dean. He bound like I was, but with his hands behind his back. They hauled him past me as he struggled with all his might, a thick strip of duct tape across his mouth keeping him from sending them all back to where they came from. They tossed him into the circle of demons before me, where he seemed to land on something fleshy rather than the hard floor.

 _Sam._ I realized quickly, trying to get to my feet so I could see if he was even still alive. _What the hell happened? They couldn't have- They can't-_

"He woke up on the way over."

"Don't matter. They can't hurt us."

A strong hand shoved me back to the ground as soon as I made it to my knees. Probably bruised my tailbone with that fall.

"Don't try anything."

"Exorcis-" I cried out as the demon to my right kicked my hip hard enough to leave a deep bruise. Various muffled sounds came from beyond the tight circle of demons in front of me.

"Percy, he said not to harm the game pieces."

"No, he said not to 'defile' the 'pawns'. She's fine."

"Where's Cas?" I demanded, seeing as I was apparently allowed to talk- no duct tape on my face, yay- just not spout out any words that would rub those black eyes nasties the wrong way.

"There's another one?"

"I think that one was the angel."

"Oh. Good. He's back there." The demon to my left pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "Never seen an angel go so long losing that much blood."

"What did you do?" I shouted, struggling to turn around. Red hot blood rushed to my face and everything in me wanted to sink that stupid blade as deep into these SOB's as possible. Multiple times.

"You worry about you, sweet cheeks." The demon behind me turned me back to face the circle with it's foot. This time it didn't hurt.

I was very familiar with the sound of steel-toed boots colliding with delicate fleshy areas of a person. That being said, I flinched when it met my ears, even though I wasn't the target. I heard Dean groan. "Quiet down."

"Don't you hurt them." I growled, tears starting to come to my eyes. Hopelessness was beginning to replace the adrenaline I had been running on. _There's got to be a way out of this. There's gotta be._

"Aside." A single male voice, not even that loud, broke the relative silence in the aisle we sat in. Immediately, all the demons stepped far to the left or right, leaving me with a perfect view of Sam and Dean.

Dean looked bad. His nose was bleeding, he was on his side curled in on himself, scratched all over and panting against the tape on his face. Those calculating, desperate green eyes flashed between me and the person in front of him.

Sam looked… slightly better. He was scratched a little, but he wasn't bleeding all that much. What worried me was that he was out cold.

Beyond them, I saw the ringleader of our current escapade, walking confidently directly toward the guys.

The man was young; around Sam's age. He was classically handsome; y'know, like the David statue, or old paintings. Sharp jaw line, straight nose, strong chin, the works. Not really my go-to, but people have idolized those features in art for centuries. He wore black pants and sturdy boots, not unlike Dean's. The white button down shirt, top two buttons undone with the sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows, looked flawless; if that guy had a demon, he hadn't for very long. Or the thing kept up with cleaning his clothes, at least. Brown hair not quite as long as Sam's but certainly not as short as Dean's was tucked back behind his ears, leaving his face to show the world its sinister, smiling glory. There was nothing but business in his expression, those piercing black eyes scrutinizing the three humans first, then each and every demon in the group. When he stopped a few feet beyond the guys, his stance screamed absolute power, demanded perfect obedience. Not one of the demons looked at him. They just stared forward, into space.

After a few moments of paralyzed stillness, he spoke. He sounded just like he looked. "And the angel?"

"He won't be a problem anymore."

The demon's eyes snapped to the demon beside me. Percy. "Percival. Have you chosen an earless host?"

Percy stiffened beside me. "No, sire."

The demon came closer to me and I leaned away, trying to scoot as far to the side as possible without getting kicked again. It was like anger and command just rolled off of him in overwhelming waves. He stopped directly beside the demon, who was facing me. "What were you in life, demon?" The sound was strong, but not loud. A shiver ran down my spine.

"B-blacksmith, sire."

"Father? Brother?"

"Father of four, sire."

"And you sold yourself for them?"

Percy swallowed hard. "Yes, sire. There was a famine…"

"And your children are now in the light?"

"They are, sire. I-I've searched Hell. Couldn't find 'em."

"Then you must understand, smith, that the family bond is a force stronger than life itself. Am I in error?"

"No, sire. I agree with you wholeheartedly."

"You lie." The demon lifted one of his hands, palm up, before him. Percy's eyes grew wide and fear consumed his expression. Within seconds, he was coughing black smoke, the substance rising and pooling just a few feet above where he stood choking. The rest of the demons tried not to look, or shuffled nervously on their feet. Once all the inky material had left the body, it dropped. Breathing.

The demon closed his palm and the blob overhead began to collapse in on itself, writhing and warping until nothing remained. "Soldiers. Percival served well, earned his keep until today. Let it be known that anyone who goes against my command will be no more. You shall not kill man. You shall not defile life. You shall not disobey."

"Yes, sire." The company replied in unison.

"I may have been made into darkness but I will not stand by and see man be disrespected in such a way. If you have gained nothing, know this: Percival was borrowing a host. The angel was borrowing a host. Percival killed a man. He earned his punishment."

"Yes, sire."

"Why is the lady in restraints?" The demon's eyes fell on me and I flinched, wide eyed as he moved closer to me and knelt down to be at eye level as I tried to move further away. I ran into a demon's legs, but didn't stop trying to escape the terrifying thing. "We do not restrain women. Particularly a woman with child."

"Yes, sire." The demon to my left stooped down and used its finger to snap both ties, leaving me free.

I scrambled to my feet immediately, but couldn't run. They had Sam and Dean hog-tied. I couldn't leave them like that.

"Allison the Huntress. I am Tristram, Knight of the Round Table."

* * *

 **A/N: Well, that was the first chapter. What do you think? Let me know in the review box below and don't forget to follow this story for weekly updates. Sometimes I even update mid-week.**

 **If you liked this and haven't read my work yet, I encourage you to read Internal Medicine and Family Practice. Or, if you want something without Ali in it, I'm also writing a fic called John's Boys. It's one of those 'Dean is lost as a child and found by John as a teen' fics.**

 **I hope you decided to tune in next week! Can't wait to hear from you! See you in a few days!**


	2. Bright Red Blood

**A/N: Vivi here! Crazy weekend. Sorry this is so late in the day. Once again, no internet at home. I'm on winter break now, so there may or may not be a few extra chapters in the next few weeks.**

 **Just a heads up: there's a POV change in this chapter.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Previously on Enter the World:_

 _I scrambled to my feet immediately, but couldn't run. They had Sam and Dean hog-tied. I couldn't leave them like that._

 _"Allison the Huntress. I am Tristram, Knight of the Round Table."_

* * *

I couldn't speak. I was terrified. And so, so confused. _Why in the hell is he being nice to me when his cronies just murdered my friend and beat the other two to a bloody pulp?_

"Are you hurt?" Tristram, Knight of the Round Table, asked.

I shook my head very slightly, not wanting to move while under his cold gaze.

"Are you whom I believe you to be?"

One tiny nod, which, in retrospect, was a bad idea.

"You are Allison, the soul residing in the vessel of Francesca's choosing. The child you bear; this is the fruit of her efforts?"

I didn't move. In my peripheral vision, I saw Dean move around until he finally got to his knees.

"It was foolish of my companion to choose a hunter to sire her object of want. As my vessel would have said, 'she had it coming'." Tristram paused, holding his arms out to his sides. "Brilliant thing, this human I've chosen. He was a student of language at university. Through his knowledge, I've come to speak this absurd incantation of language that is still, against all sense, called English."

I nodded slightly, unsure about what I should do. _Can't run. They're faster. Can't fight, they'll hurt the guys or- heaven forbid- kill the baby in the scuffle. And now…_ I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat and felt a few tears fall from my eyes. _No one will be there to save him. No one could save him. Cas…_

"Allison, why do you weep? You should be honored to bear such a thing as Francesca and her creation."

I glared at him. Demon or not, he had to get one thing right. "This is _not her child._ "

"I beg to differ. Excuse me for a moment. Soldiers, retain her." Tristram turned away from me, toward the guys, as two of the three demons who had been guarding me moved back to stand by my side; the one barely had to move. I'd been sitting on her foot.

"Don't you hurt them." I growled, jumping to my feet. Both of my arms were caught up within milliseconds, but I still struggled against them. "I'll-"

"My dear lady, I had no plans to harm your comrades." Tristram turned back, but only a little. "The soldiers who damaged them will be punished accordingly. The three of you shall remain unharmed, so long as a few of my requests are met."

"Name them." I said quickly, tugging once more against my captors.

"A lady has no place in business of this sort." Tristram turned around again. "Wake that one."

I watched as a demon in a pretty red-headed soccer mom opened a gallon jug of water and dumped it over Sam's head. He sputtered to life, gasping and pulling against the zip ties, probably cutting himself in the process. I saw him try to say something, only to realize he couldn't.

"I'm over here, Sam. Dean's okay, too. He's right there with you." I said as evenly as possible. "They taped your mouths shut."

Sam found Dean kneeling beside him, then he found me and I knew instantly what question his eyes were asking. I looked away, trying not to start ugly crying.

"Hunters Samuel and Dean. Your reputations have preceded you." Tristram said, his voice booming. "You murdered seven humans today. Had you been under my command you would have already received your sentence. I see that life is not as valued in this age as it was when I walked the earth in my own form. I had such hopes that the opposite would persist as I was led from the hurricane by the demon Francesca, who has become my companion through our damnation."

Dean tried to say something, but it only sounded like a muffled grumble through the tape.

"I have sought you for many weeks now. I do not wish any harm to befall you by my own doing. I have but one request, which will be honored. I have no doubt." Tristram said, moving to stand on the other side of the guys instead of between us. "You see there a beautiful woman, laden with purpose, distressed at her confinement. I would not have expected you to feel any remorse at this had I not discovered the attraction that draws you both to her. A connection very like the family bond calls your souls to hers, as it calls you to one another. My soldiers were well trained to observe these kinds of things. Francesca preened them herself." Tristram moved a few feet closer to the guys, now just four feet or so from where the guys were. "That being known, this is my request. Hear it well, men. I have in my possession the huntress Allison. She will accompany me to an undisclosed location for a short time."

Neither of the guys liked that idea and they showed it. I wasn't too fond of it either. My eyes got wider and I tried kicking the demon in the man next to me where the sun don't shine, but he held on tight.

"Be not enraged, hunters. Once you fulfill my request, you may have her back for a time. She and her offspring will be retrieved once a child is birthed. In exchange for this valuable commodity," Tristram motioned to me with a grand sweep of his arm. "You will give me the demon Francesca. I have searched the earth for my companion and found no trace. The angry harlot has become dear to me; she and I suffered in the very same circle, side by side in the same storm of wind and waves. Her soldiers- those of them that remain, the less violent bastards- reported that she herself dismissed them after she completed the first part of her ill-conceived plan. They left her with three hunters; one of them an angel, no less. I have little doubt that she is in your possession, though I struggle to understand how, as she is not in a vessel. No tracking spell has had the power to find her."

Tristram walked past Dean and came to stand before me once more, blocking my view of the guys. "Make yourselves known once you retrieve Francesca. I will seek you out in a few days time. Your restraints will be removed once myself and my pawn are well clear. Godspeed, hunters."

They didn't like that either. I didn't like how Tristram motioned to his 'soldiers' and they all started walking away, towards the exit. Even the ones restraining me. "No, hey, you can't do this!" I shouted, struggling as hard as I could. "Who the hell do you think you are?" My feet slid along the concrete as I was dragged after the group of possessed people.

"I am Tristram, Knight of King Arthur. And you, my darling, are the vessel with which I will spend my days."

* * *

"Oh, hell no. Let go!" Ali shouted, fighting in vain against the two demons holding her arms.

Sam and Dean watched as the group of demons dragged Ali down the aisle and out of sight. The two of them struggled wildly against the ties binding their hands and feet.

"Sam, Dean, help me!"

" _Please!_ "

" _SAM!_ "

Ali's screams and shouts for help faded into quieter pleas tainted with what sounded like falling tears. She was too far away to understand, but they knew she wasn't talking to them.

She knew they couldn't save her.

That stung, ripped at the barely sealed wounds in Sam's heart from what he'd done to her at the club. He couldn't save her- or the baby- then, and he couldn't save them now.

Two minutes after her voice faded, the zip ties began to heat up. It shocked both men, who frantically tried to get away from whatever was burning them. The ties melted through and fell away; there was nothing burning the things that they could find, though their wrists sported very tangible burns now, as well as cuts. They leapt to their feet, ripping the tape off of their mouths as they sprinted for the door.

"Ali!" Sam shouted as he left the store, Dean close behind him. "Ali!"

"Where the hell did they go?" Dean growled, surveying the area around them. "Sam." He smacked Sam's arm and pointed to his right. There, on the ground, lay exactly ten bodies. Each in a state of near consciousness. One of them even sat up and started rubbing his head.

She wasn't among them.

"Ali!" Sam looked back to the parking lot and charged forward.

The two of them looked for any sign of the girl until they heard sirens a few minutes later. Sam was in tears, near hysteria for the second time that week.

"Sam, hey." Dean grabbed ahold of Sam's arm as he started running for the road, desperate to figure out which way they could have gone. He assumed they were in a car. He hoped. "Tristram said he'd bring her back. Sam, they're gone. Hey, look at me. Look at me." Dean took Sam's other arm and forced Sam to face him. Sam looked to his big brother, at a loss. "Don't check out again, okay? I need you here. Ali needs you at the top of your game, got it?"

Sam looked around again, sniffed his nose, tried to breathe, and nodded.

"We need to go back in there."

Sam's distraught face betrayed his confusion.

"Cas…"

"Dean, I'm sorry." Sam breathed, as if it were his fault. "We hesitated, he- he told us to run and we didn't. And now…"

"We gotta make sure, Sam. He'd do the same for us."

Sam followed Dean back to the store just as two police cars came around the corner of the nearest building. They ducked inside and raced to the back of the store, where the whole thing went down.

Dean saw him first and stopped short. Sam ran into Dean, but was no less shaken.

The body of Cas lay face down about two thirds of the way into the aisle. It was resting in a pool of blood, a deep, congealed red by this time. Matching sprays of the sickly red clung to much of the aisle; a lot on the floor, some strew across boxes of cereal with happy cartoon characters on them. Even a streak on the ceiling. There was too much blood to be from just one body, but there were only two other bodies in the aisle. One burly man in cook's garb, and one in a smart looking polo that read 'electronics dept.'.

The blood only held their attention for a few seconds, however.

A pair of big black burn marks, shaped like wings, stretched from his back. The right wing etched an inky scar into the cement crossing much of the walkway, but the left only damaged a few feet of concrete before it discolored the shelf of cereal next to it. The floor, the shelves, the cereal; all of it was pitch black where he…

"Cas…" Dean breathed. He didn't know what else to do.

Sam stumbled back a few steps, trying to catch his breath. _I can't- not him, too. She- I can't- She'll come back, she has to. She_ has _to. But Cas…_

They heard police yell something about surrender over a megaphone outside.

"Dean." Sam managed to force just a few words out of his brain in the midst of… this. "We have to go." He laid a hand on Dean's shoulder, intent on tugging him towards the back room, where there was a loading bay they might be able to escape from.

Dean jerked away from Sam and walked slowly, hesitantly, toward the red puddle.

"We have to go, Dean. We can't get her back if we're in prison." Sam spoke more firmly this time. He _would_ get her back. There was no doubt in his mind. _How_ he would get her back was another story.

"Sam… look at this." Dean whispered, his voice filled with awe.

Sam looked over his shoulder toward the front entrance, which was hidden by the clothing section. He couldn't hear anything but the megaphone from outside. He thought they'd probably do that- demand the surrender of the attackers who already left- for a minute or so before they came in. Sam jogged down the aisle to stand beside Dean.

As he got closer, he immediately saw what had Dean speechless.

Those weren't burn marks.

Those were _wings._

Real, actual wings. With feathers. Coated in blood.

"Is he…?" Sam started to say, only to trail off. He'd never seen something like that before. The wings looked like they'd just torn holes in Cas' coat where they attached at his shoulder blades, but they looked soft where blood hadn't stained them. A few of the flight feathers were damaged or missing. _No wonder he'd been having trouble zapping back and forth._

Dean was crouching in the puddle of blood before Sam even saw his brother move, fingers pressed to the angel's neck.

"Sam." Dean looked up at his brother. Sam hadn't seen Dean so shocked in years; this trumped even the paternity reveal of that very afternoon.

"He's alive."

* * *

"How the hell does he fly?" Dean grunted quietly as he and Sam half carried half dragged Cas and those massive wings toward the loading bay. Each man had an arm and awkwardly held Cas' body around the base of the wings. "He weighs a ton."

"He's in a grown man, Dean. And those things probably added a couple pounds when they showed up." Sam glanced over his shoulder and Cas' arm at the wings, which were clumsily folded and held in place by Dean's long sleeved shirt, wrapped tightly and carefully around the feathered things. Both Sam and Dean's jackets were coated in blood. Their pants and boots and, well, just about everything else probably was, too. The police would have no trouble in tracking them once they found the huge spill in aisle seven.

"Yeah, but all that red on the floor had to of evened that out, right?"

"Not funny, Dean. He's literally bleeding out." Sam said quietly as he nudged open a large metal door. On the other side was a big open space dotted with pallets of products wrapped in so many layers of plastic that they were indistinguishable from each other. A few trucks were backed into their respective bays, but one of the bays was open. Rather than find a door, which would have taken a few extra seconds, they got right up to the bay and Dean took Cas' weight while Sam jumped down. Cas was lowered carefully, the brothers taking extra precautions with the wings, before Dean joined them on the ground. The owner of the nearest car was gonna be pissed.

Sam picked the lock and got in the driver's seat while Dean manhandled Cas into the back seat of the SUV. He pushed his way in, keeping Cas sitting upright until he could figure out how to lay him down though hurting him. The car was moving even before Dean closed his door.

"Don't go home." Dean warned. "They'll be following us."

"Got it." Sam flew down the road, getting on the nearest highway. "How's Cas?"

"Just peachy." Dean snapped as he gently guided Cas to lay on his side, wings against the back of the seats. He figured that would be the least painful way of doing this.

There was blood everywhere. The whole front of the angel, most of his face, and much of his back were just slick and red and disgusting. Dean had a hard time figuring out where the bleeder was. Nothing was torn; not his shirt, not his coat, aside from the new wing holes. He leaned Cas forward, toward him as he knelt in the cramped space between the front and back seats. Whatever company boasted the leg room of this car model was obviously delusional.

No active bleeding from his back. _Damn it._ Dean leaned him against the back seat once more. "I can't find it, Sam." His voice was full of urgency and distress.

"Where did you look?"

"Everywhere."

"Obviously not. Head?"

"Head's fine. Well, his cheek's cut-"

"Body?"

"Couldn't find anything big enough to do his."

"Arms?"

Dean did a quick check of both limbs, finding them intact. "Clear."

"Wings?" Sam frowned. _Where would the major blood vessels be in a wing?_

"They weren't bleeding in the store. No blood under 'em."

"Legs?"

 _Well shit. There's your sign._ Dean checked along Cas' legs, running a hand up and down the nasty, slimy fabric, looking for rips or holes.

"Bingo." He found one, a long tear on the outer side of his leg, just above the back his right knee. Without hesitation, Dean removed his coat and balled it up, pressing hard against the wound that was still gushing blood and soaking some poor soccer mom's fabric seats. He applied pressure to the front of Cas' leg, too, where the femoral artery and the internal iliac and femoral veins converged before entering the pelvis. In effect, Dean created a vice grip, stopping the flow of blood out of and slowing the flow of blood to the wound.

"How bad?" Sam asked, glancing back at them in the rearview mirror, his view blocked by the back of Dean's head as his brother worked.

"Five inches, probably one or two deep. Might have nicked the popliteal artery, but it missed deep and superficial femoral arteries." Dean said quickly, pressing harder on the wound as it soaked his coat through. "And it's definitely an artery. Bright red blood."

"Guess those anatomy lessons came in handy, huh?" Sam said as he remembered evenings spent with Ali and his brother, pouring over old anatomy textbooks from the archives, listening to the former med student spin intricate views of the blood vessels and muscles and organs of the body. She was full of knowledge, throwing in fun facts to keep their attention. Like how some muscles had beautiful tendons; instead of the usual ropey structures, some had thick, wide sheets of amazingly strong connective tissue that shimmered in the light of her anatomy lab. Kind of like fish skin, but less scaly and more sleek. She said it was beautiful. He could still see her smile, the wonder in her eyes as she tried to convince them that there were amazing structures that looked so much better on a body than they did in the books. A strong pang of panic and dread washed over Sam; he took a deep breath, but it didn't make much of a dent.

Sam was glad he couldn't see those structures on Cas at the moment. That would be a problem even the Winchesters couldn't handle.

Hell, this whole ordeal might turn out to be more than the Winchesters could handle. _No. We'll get her back. She'll be okay. He'll be okay. Cas will be okay. Everybody's gonna be fine._

"Where are we headed?" Dean asked after a few minutes. The bleeding had slowed, but Cas' breathing picked up and became shallower. "We need to stop soon, he's going into shock."

"Hospital?" Sam suggested.

Dean would have smacked his brother had he not been using both hands. "What are the white coats gonna say when we bring in a guy with real actual wings, Sam?"

"Right. Motel?"

"Home away from home."

* * *

They finally decided that Cas would probably be okay on his back if the wings were cushioned by a ton of pillows and blankets. Sam got a room by convincing the clerk at the desk of the Dunes Motel that he was a painter and had spilled a container of red tinted stain on himself at work that day. The clerk didn't say a word, but took his payment and handed over a set of keys with wide eyes.

The brothers quickly brought Cas into the room and set him up with pillows to cushion his wings and another couple to lift his legs. Sam laid salt while Dean continued his vigil of applying pressure to the wound and checking the pulses in Cas' foot. The last thing they needed was for Cas to lose his leg now that he probably couldn't heal it.

"His lips are blue."

"I _know_ , Sam."

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for potentially making you guys think I killed Cas for a whole week. Meant to post mid-week but finals happened. So yay, he's still alive. Kinda. Leave me a review in this little box at the bottom of the page. I'd love to hear from you! See you soon!**


	3. Make Yourself Known

**A/N: Vivi here! Tried to post earlier this week. It wouldn't convert my doc. Worked today though. Anyway, sorry for the delay. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Previously on Enter the World:_

 _"His lips are blue."_

 _"I_ know _, Sam."_

* * *

Cas didn't die in the night. His leg didn't either. Neither brother got any sleep, even though they took turns caring for the angel. Any rest would have been a relief, but they didn't want to fall into a nightmare that was too real. They didn't want to relive… that. For the most part, they just watched blurry TV and tried to focus on keeping Cas out of hypovolemic shock.

"What are we gonna do with him?" Sam asked as the sun started to peer over the horizon and pour into their motel room. "We can't take him back to the bunker with us. We might get jumped; they'd kill him for sure if they got their hands on him."

"I was hoping Bobby would take him. He can watch Cas until we get back. Or at least until he wakes up. I doubt Cas has any angel juice at the moment, so it probably will take a good long time. All Bobby will have to do is check on him once in a while." Dean's voice was quiet, somewhat nervous. "He… he'll wake up, right? I mean, this isn't even the worst injury he's had."

"Dean, his wings are visible. I don't think that's a very good sign. I mean, I haven't read anything about angel's wings showing up before but it doesn't seem like an everyday kind of thing. But… he's still breathing, so I'm like 65% sure he'll wake up eventually." Sam got up from his bed and went to stand next to Dean, who was seated on the bed next to Cas, still holding light pressure on the wound.

"But will he wake up before he, I don't know, starves to death? He eats when he's like this. He's basically human, right? If he sleeps, he eats?"

"He'd die of thirst before he'd starve, Dean. And yeah. He's basically human. Just like us." Sam's voice was as quiet as Dean's, like they didn't want to disturb the stillness of the room.

"This is bullshit."

"Dean, he's not dead. We didn't lose him entirely. Chances are he'll recover and be able to function at least like a person, even if he doesn't get his mojo back. It's not like he's a vegetable."

"Well aren't you a ray of technicolor sunshine?" Dean grumbled, looking over Cas' face for the hundredth time. His cheek had stopped bleeding before they even reached the motel, but crusted blood still covered most of his features. "Go get a washcloth, dude. I can't keep looking at his face like that. It's makin' me sick."

"We're already sick, Dean. I doubt it's Cas who's making you nauseous." Sam said as he went into the bathroom and returned with a washcloth, presoaked in warm water. "How are you holdin' up, by the way?"

"Me? You're seriously asking how _I'm_ feeling right now?"

"Humor me." Sam set to work removing the blood from Cas' skin, all the while studying the wings that laid to either side of his head. They were coated in blood too. So much so that Sam really couldn't say with any degree of certainty what color they were underneath.

"I feel like I'm gonna puke. My head's killin' me, I think I have a fever, and some demon probably bruised a kidney for how much my side hurts right now."

"Is your urine pink?" Sam looked back to his brother, who looked miserable. His cheeks were flushed, blood smeared over some of his face and much of his clothing, his hands hopelessly coated in the stuff, and he was squinting a little even in the dim light from the lamp in the corner and the sunrise through the part in the curtains.

It was by that light that his brother shrugged. "Haven't checked yet."

"We should before we leave. So… I guess your cold isn't some twenty four hour thing after all."

"No shit, Sam."

"We'll get something for you soon."

"What about you, huh? How did Sammy make it through the night?" Dean asked with a bitter tone, studying his brother who seemed to deflate at the question.

"I tried not to think about it."

"About being sick?"

"About Ali. And the baby." Sam got up to rinse out the once white washcloth, returning to a guilty looking Dean.

"I'm sorry, Sam, I shouldn't have-"

"We'll get her back. We have to." Sam's voice was quiet but sure.

It worried Dean that his brother hid his emotion behind that wall of his, but Sam hadn't checked out yet, so he saw this as an improvement over the last time he thought he lost Ali. Which was like friggin' three days ago.

Once Sam finally cleared all the blood from Cas' face and neck, he sighed. "We can't go to Bobby's house. We can't risk being followed there."

"Sam, they already know where his house is. That's where they kidnapped her in the first place, remember?" Dean couldn't believe that Sam hadn't made that connection already. They'd left her with Bobby when they had yet another job that was too dangerous for her to join them on, back before they trained her. She was kidnapped by demons and shifters who were under Francesca's command; Bobby barely made it out of his own house alive. It wasn't that long ago that they'd flushed the place out and put Bobby back in his rightful place.

"Francesca and her demons knew where it was. Tristram said not many of her followers were left. There's a chance that none of them are." Sam said, tossing the reddened cloth to the other bed and sitting on the edge of Cas'.

"As soon as we hand over that box, he's gonna let her out, Sam. She'll go there first to find us. Now I don't think she knows where the bunker is. She wasn't… _there_ enough in Li's head to remember. Not as weak as she was then." Dean said, shivering at the memory of ripping the remnant of Francesca out of Li's body. It had been in there for _five months_ before they noticed it. Cas hadn't even seen it; he'd brought her to them in the beginning because he needed help with this human he'd saved from a demon. This crying ball of a human, who said her name was Allison. Francesca supposedly smoked out before Cas could kill her, but a part of her was trapped in Ali, making either half of the demon extremely weak. That piece of hell was why Ali couldn't talk with them for more than a few minutes without having a panic attack during the first few months of their acquaintance. Why she couldn't be around Cas for too long before shutting down. Why she was suicidal, way back when.

She went from a sad puppy, an utter burden in Sam and Dean's lives, to their very own female protagonist. As soon as the demon was out, she blossomed into a different person than the Ali they'd known before. She was eager to learn, took no BS, and became unstoppable when one of them needed help. The woman hid in a car for hours so Sam and Cas would have no choice but to let her go look for Dean with them when he disappeared on a case. She was the one who found him.

Sam would never forget. Dean could have died before Sam and Cas found that dank cavern where a tiny, shivering, toddler version of the hunter was curled up under a jacket that dwarfed his now miniscule frame. If Sam had gotten his way back then, Ali would have still been sitting with their backpacks outside the mine even as Dean breathed his last. From that point on, Sam tried not to order Ali around. She knew what needed to be done, even if she didn't quite know how to do it safely yet.

"So we can't go to Bobby's with Cas and we can't go to the bunker or Tristram will know exactly where to find Ali when we get her back." Sam said, looking down at Cas once more, hopelessness slowly but surely filling his chest.

"We can probably shake whatever groupies we got goin' on and get to the bunker under the radar. But evasive maneuvers like that don't mix with a downed angel. And we can't let Bobby stay in his house. There's no chance they'd leave him alone."

"I didn't think about that."

"I think I got a plan."

* * *

"Thanks, Bobby. Hey- again, I'm sorry about all this."

"I know, kid. You've said that three times now. It ain't your fault some demon took the girl and banged up the angel. I'll miss the house, that's for sure, but ain't nothin' here that's irreplaceable. Not that I can't take with me, at least." Bobby sighed on the other end of the phone, his voice low and tired. "How's Sam holdin' up? You pick up somethin' for those colds 'a yers?"

"Yeah, finally drugged him to sleep. He's better than earlier this week, but that's not sayin' much." Dean said quietly, glancing over at his brother, asleep in the passenger seat. Cas was nestled securely across the back bench, wrapped in blankets and held in place with pillows and whatever else from the motel they could use as padding. At least this car had more leg room for Sam. That was the one good thing about the domestic chariot of an SUV in Dean's mind.

"You'll have to fill me in when you get back. You called 'er yet?"

"Nah, I'm doin' that next. She said it was an open invitation last time we talked, so I'm hopin' that still applies."

"I'm with ya on that one. Won't be thrilled to have five more mouths to feed."

"We'll make our keep one way or another. At least until we can come up with a better plan."

"Worry about that when the time comes, I guess. Where're you leavin' 'im?"

"I'll send you the coordinates from a burner phone. I don't want 'em trackin' us if they have these numbers."

"Sounds like a plan. ETA?"

"Three hours. It's about in the middle of nowhere."

"I'll be there."

* * *

"This doesn't seem like a good plan, Dean." Sam said as they hauled Cas into another motel room, four hours away from the last. "He could take a turn and be long gone before Bobby even gets close."

The brothers settled Cas on the bed, taking care to not snap a wing or pull a feather in the process. Not that he hadn't already lost a few sticky red ones. Dean propped Cas' leg up to hopefully keep him from re-bleeding. They hadn't been able to stitch the cut, so all that held it shut was the pressure from a few washcloths pushing in on the edges, held tight by a towel tied around his leg.

"I know the risks, Sam, but he can't come with us if we want him alive at all in the future. This way he'll at least have a chance. Bobby won't be more than like half an hour out by now, so if we split, we can take our demon entourage with us and clear the way for Bobby to do an angel life-flight in relative safety." Dean ran his fingers through his hair nervously, remembering too late that they were coated in crusty blood. "Bobby knows what he's doing. He thinks this'll work."

"Well, I don't like it, but I don't see any other choice."

"Lesser of two evils, right?"

"I'll get the salt."

* * *

"What the hell does 'a few days time' even mean?" Sam snapped suddenly, surprising Dean.

"What?" Dean reached down and turned the music off, dividing his attention instead between the road and his newly irate brother.

"Tristram said 'make yourselves known when you have Francesca. I'll seek you out in a few days time'. What the hell does that even mean? Two days? Five? How long are they going to keep her?" Sam asked, his anxiety no longer hidden under a confident facade.

Dean could see Sam's nerves fraying from across the car. "I don't know, Sam. But we'll be ready as soon as he decides to come looking, okay? We'll get her back, one way or another."

"What if they're not taking care of her, Dean? What if they're not feeding her, or letting her sleep? She could probably make it until we do the trade… She has to, right? They wouldn't let her die, they need the baby. But, I mean, they just need the baby's blood, they don't need him to be healthy and thriving when he's born. What if they do permanent damage? Cas might not be able to save them again." Sam bit at his fingernails and looked out the window as if the farmland rushing by them had the answers to his questions.

"She's a fighter. Kid is too. And so help those pieces of shit, if they hurt her or Junior we know more than enough ways to make them regret it."

"Why her?"

"'Why her' what, Sam?" Dean glanced over again and found Sam slouching in his seat, face getting more and more red by the minute.

"Why did demons target _her_? She didn't do anything wrong."

"No, she didn't. Tristram wants her because Francesca's obsessed-"

"No, Dean. Why did Francesca have to take her in the first place? She was happy, she was married, she was having a kid. Getting her medical degree. That bitch could have singled out any female in her family. They were all descendants of that vessel she had and beat to hell before it died. _Why her_?"

"Don't do this now, Sammy. I know it sucks that Li was singled out. I know it totally screwed up the life she spent her whole life building. But it happened, and it's done. We can't change it. And if all of that hadn't happened, we wouldn't know her, Sam. Cas would've bled out after that first ambush 'cuz of that binding spell the witch put on his grace. I'd be dead in a mine in Centerville and who knows where you'd be. I know it's kinda morbid, but I'm glad she's in our lives. Right now, we just need to focus on getting her back. That's priority one."

"Yeah."

"Don't check out, Sam."

"I won't."

* * *

The bunker was uncomfortably silent as they pulled into the garage in the blood soaked SUV. Dean was pretty sure they had been able to shake the demons they knew were trailing them, watching their every move. They weren't inside for more than five minutes. Just enough time to pack some clothes, gather any weapons and spell ingredients they would need, collect some personal effects- theirs and Ali's- and grab Francesca's box. It still sat exactly where Bobby placed it twelve weeks ago, in room 7B, just outside the dungeon.

They took a minute to use the bathroom, too. The brothers washed the blood from their clothes, then their bodies, in the showers before getting ready to head out again. Dean found out that he had, in fact, bruised a kidney during the fight at the store. But there was only a little blood in the toilet bowl, so he decided against telling Sam or Bobby. There were bigger fish to fry.

Their next stop was the supermarket where Ali was kidnapped. They ditched the SUV in the parking lot and got their blood free, classic, red two seater back. Dean could see why the MOL chose this model; it had some kind of giddy-up to it. They flew down the interstate, going nowhere in particular, as long as it was far from the bunker and relatively west.

* * *

"So we just… wander around until they decide to find us?" Sam asked, absently turning a small box over and over in his hands.

"Hell no. We're gonna use every trick in our book to find her first. There's no going back once they have that lockbox, Sam. Handing it over is our back up plan's backup plan." Dean couldn't bring himself to look at his brother. He'd been sulking since they set off with no destination in mind and he hadn't stopped fiddling with that box since they got back to the red car. Sam hadn't even had it a full week yet. "Put that thing away before you break it. You're drivin' me nuts."

Sam heaved a sigh and held the box still for a few moments before putting it back in the glovebox. "What's the plan? If we have a backup plan, we must have a plan, right?"

"Like I said, every location tracker we know of."

"That's not gonna work, Dean. She's warded. Unless they ruined the tattoo, she'll be impossible to find."

"Then let's hope she messed it up herself."

* * *

"Goin' on thirty six hours, innit?" Bobby sounded just as tired as the boys felt. "You slept at all yet?"

"Sam caught some z's in the car." Dean said, unwilling to reveal that he hadn't slept at all. Sure, he'd taken some non-drowsy cold meds to relieve the headache, dull the ache in his side, stop the constant begging of his stomach to view the outside world, and bring his fever down, but no way was he going to risk closing his eyes and seeing that jackass drag his adopted sister away over and over and over. He knew he had failed her; he didn't need a constant reminder.

"Boy, put that brother 'a yers on the phone. You go take a few hours so you're not a sneezin' zombie when the mud hits the fan. He can do these by himself." Bobby's voice was stern but quiet. "You're only as good as your split second decisions in situations like these, son. You have to be at the top of your game."

"Yeah." Dean scrubbed a hand down his face and sighed. "I can't just tap out though, Bobby. I can't just stop looking. This is _Li_ we're talkin' about." He stopped himself just short of saying 'the mother of Sammy's child'. They'd agreed to make it a surprise for Bobby right after Ali asked them not to make a big deal about it. The man would practically be a grandfather, after all.

"Dean, if you don't take care of yourself and all this goes south, you'll be a long time comin' back. Just rest for a while. Sam and I can handle this." Bobby said, trying to sound convincing while also keeping his voice down. He wasn't the only person around, but he was the only person awake at the moment. It was nearing- or just past- midnight in his time zone. Bobby wasn't really sure. He hadn't looked at a clock for a while; the basement office didn't have one, and there were no windows.

"Bobby, I can't-" The dial tone ran loud in Dean's ear.

A few seconds later, Sam's phone rang. He stopped the preparations for the next spell and pulled it out of his duffel. "Yeah?" When the person on the other end spoke, Sam looked to his brother in confusion. Then he shook his head and the bitchface made an appearance. "Dean, seriously, get some sleep. You look like hell."

"I'm fine."

"You almost puked during the last one, dude. Take some cold medicine and go to bed. I'll wake you up if any of these actually work." Sam said, producing a half empty bottle of sloshing liquid cold medicine from his duffel. He tossed it to Dean, who caught it with an angry glare. "Be pissy all you want. Just lay in the bed and I'll stop bugging you."

"Whatever."

It took three minutes for Dean to fall asleep once he hit the bed and two of those were spent arguing with Sam about how he wouldn't be able to conk out.

"Just like when you were a baby." Sam went back to prepping the next spell, a tiny smile on his face as he recalled those long evenings with Ali, both of them trying to get Dean- who was de-aged into an eighteen month old child at the time- to go to bed. He'd thrash and cry until the last minute sometimes, falling asleep so quickly after going silent that they worried he hurt himself or fainted. Baby Dean was all cuddles and dreamy eyes when they'd put him in the play pen where he slept after fits like those. At times, Sam wished Dean remembered more of his second childhood, but most of the time he was glad those memories were gone. Dean didn't remember Ali getting her shoulder torn to pieces before finding him in that mine, the frantic escape from the wendigo, or the mad dash out of the woods and away from the witch that cursed him. He didn't remember being in a shootout with the witch, Ali holding him as she was shot in the leg. He didn't remember throwing cereal at Cas every morning and laughing like a maniac when the weakened angel flinched or when a piece of cereal stuck to his very annoyed face. He didn't remember Sam's breakdown, the night of drinking that ended in Ali literally slapping some sense into him. Dean remembered the important things though. Like playtime with his brother and adopted sister as the pair secretly fell in love with each other. Being lulled to sleep with rock songs sung slow and soft while Ali or Sam held him and walked around the bunker. And most importantly, the feeling of safety and love that he so craved for much of his life.

"Got it all set up?" Bobby asked when Sam returned to his phone.

"Yeah. Let's get this over with."

* * *

None of the spells they tried worked. That came as no surprise to the three men; they knew how powerful her warding was. Unlike the Winchester brothers who had theirs carved into their ribs, Ali had an Enochian ward tattooed on her side. It was the same one Cas had. The angel personally oversaw its application. If that ward kept angels from finding and detaining Cas after he abandoned them, then it sure as hell wasn't going to let some flimsy spell find Ali. That had been exactly what they wanted at the time she had it put on. Now, though… Sam wished they'd found another way to hide her. Let her be untraceable to everyone but Sam, Dean, and Cas.

"That's all I got, son. I could make a few calls and see if anybody else knows somethin' I don't about findin' a person who's warded, but I doubt I'd come back with anything worthwhile." Bobby closed a thick, old book and pushed it aside on the small wooden desk. "You picked up that box?"

"We had to have a backup plan. It's in the trunk." Sam ran a hand through his hair and paced the room, listening to Dean snore in the dim light.

"You seal up that trunk well enough?"

"Men of Letters did most of it. We added a few things yesterday. No demon can get into it, period." He sighed and waited until the latest wave of dread passed. "Bobby, there's no way we can win this. We'll get Ali back, yeah, but Tristram is just going to release Francesca as soon as he gets his hands on that thing. And she'll come searching- we can't hide forever."

"You can hide long enough to come up with a better plan than hidin', Sam. Point is to get the girl back and regroup somewhere safe. Just focus on that for now. No 'big picture' thinkin', not until everyone has their sanity back."

"Right. I'm trying, I really am. This situation is just so screwed up."

"Ya got that right. But she's alive, kid. You'll get her back soon or we'll summon the SOB and make him regret takin' his time."

"Hey, how's Cas doin'?" Sam slowed in his pacing somewhat. They would get Ali back one way or another. But Cas had been on death's door when they left him in that motel room for Bobby to find.

"Well, he's alive. Stitched up that gash and got an IV into 'im. He needed blood but I ain't no blood bank, so I just watered down what he had to keep his blood pressure up. He hasn't gone back into shock yet, so that's good. We cleaned him up when I got here and I got someone checkin' in on him every fifteen minutes or so. His condition don't change much, but the last time I was in there his wing twitched. Can't say I didn't jump. Creepy lookin' things to be comin' out of a person."

"That's better than the last time he was down like this. He didn't even move before." Sam said, allowing just a touch of hope to flare up. "How're they takin' it?"

"Well, there was some screamin' and cursin' when I dragged 'im in, but they got over it pretty fast. Say they can't wait for the three of ya to get here. Allison has been quite the hot topic."

Sam smiled. "How's that spell comin'?"

"Really, boy? I just spent how long doin' locating rituals with you and you ask about the damn shroud spell?"

"I was just wondering. I don't want to put anyone else in danger."

"It's comin' along. Got a few more things to pick up before it'll have the power to cover a couple miles diameter. Someone's gonna have to meet you at the edge and let you in until we get that blood, though. It'll work on everything until we put that into it."

"Then only demons and shifters will get lost?"

"Exactly."

"Good."

"What're you gonna do now?"

"Uh, probably go shopping."

* * *

 **A/N: I promise that last line will make more sense once the next chapter is up. Leave me a review and tell me what you think might happen or what you think of the fic so far. See you _very_ soon!**


	4. Shopping and Steam

**A/N: Vivi here! Yes, I know. The last line of the previous chapter was kind of wonky. Hopefully this chapter clears things up.**

 **Also, this might be a bit meandering. I was in that kind of mood. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Previously on Enter the World:_

 _"What're you gonna do now?"_

 _"Uh, probably go shopping."_

* * *

"This is a stupid idea, Sam."

"We can't wait at a motel for him to come, Dean. We'll be cornered."

"But an outdoor shopping center? Really? This is your idea of neutral ground? There are civilians out here. People could get hurt."

"I heard you the first twelve times, Dean. It's cold outside and we haven't seen more than five people so far. In case you didn't notice, most of these shops are closed anyway; I think this is a pretty good place to make the trade." Sam said, taking in their surroundings and watching for anything out of place. Both men were armed to the teeth and Sam had the box in a warded backpack, but they still wanted as much advanced notice as possible when Tristram decided to make an appearance. Another ambush could result in them losing Francesca _and_ Ali.

"If you say so." Dean still wasn't convinced that this was the best location to draw demons to, but he had to admit that having a few escape routes eased his nerves. The shopping center was one of those designer outlet places where big companies sent their merchandise that wasn't selling well in normal stores. It was supposed to look like a little town, or so Dean thought. The buildings that held the stores were tall and long, housing a few businesses on the first floor and apartments on the second. They were decorated to look like something out of an old English fairy tale with white plaster and dark wooden slats, cobbled streets and peaked roofs. There was even a duck pond, a big one, with real actual ducks, nestled in a courtyard between the main buildings.

"This pavement must be hell with a stroller." Sam muttered absently, continually scanning the area as they walked slowly around the complex. The cobbled pathways were poured cement, but the stamp they used on it before it dried made the surface uneven and bumpy.

"You goin' full Papa Bear already?" Dean smirked when Sam blushed and wouldn't look at him.

"Well, it had to happen sometime, didn't it?" Sam shrugged, wondering why he was embarrassed as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "There's gonna be a baby in like six months whether I'm ready or not."

"You got that right."

"Hey- do you think it's really a boy?"

"Are we having this conversation _now_?"

"You brought it up."

Dean huffed one humorless laugh and shook his head. "You want my honest guess?"

"That's what I asked for."

"It's a girl."

"Why do you think that?"

"Mama Bear is glowing. And the kid's soul is super bright."

"Cas say that?"

"Yeah. He said the kid's soul blocked his view of Li's."

"That doesn't mean it's a girl, Dean."

"What? I think 'ball of light' and it just _feels_ feminine, y'know? You asked for my guess. That's my guess: it's a girl."

Sam grinned to himself. "Wanna bet on it?"

"What are we betting?"

"Diaper duty for the first month."

"Dude!" Dean exclaimed, staring at his brother in mock horror. "That's a terrible bet. Why the hell would I agree to that when you're the one who's on the hook for it anyway?"

"You really think she'll let you off, just like that? There's a fifty fifty chance that kid is yours, Dean. That means you do a third of the dirty work, just like Ali and I." Sam allowed a hint of humor into his tone as they passed the duck pond and kept on going.

"That kid is _yours_ , Sam. Doesn't matter whose swimmer won the race."

"Oh, c'mon, Dean. How can you just give up on having a kid like that? You've always wanted one and now you just hand him over?" Sam had been trying to figure out why Dean declared the child Sam's as soon as they found out either of them could be the father. Sam was thrilled, of course, but he knew Dean should be able to call the kid his if it turned out to be. The whole situation just made Sam more furious with Francesca, whom they were about to trade for the mother herself. If that thing hadn't possessed Ali and hunted the three of them- Dean, Cas, and Sam- then they wouldn't be in this mess. All three of them were upset to learn that they'd been raped by said demon, but Ali was the only one who knew what happened, and she was the only one suffering the consequences. Cas told her when he first saw the baby's soul, just days after they dragged the demon out of her, that the child was human. So Cas wasn't the father. Good thing too; he said angels probably would've killed Ali and child as soon as they heard a nephilim come into being.

That left Sam and Dean as the only other potential fathers. Sam kind of understood why Dean would want Sam to take the role. It wasn't that Dean didn't want a child of his own; it was that Sam and Ali were happy together. Dean got to watch their entire relationship develop firsthand and Sam knew his brother was excited that Sam finally found someone again. He knew Dean didn't want to ruin that for them, but Sam didn't think he would even if he wanted the kid. Ali understood what had happened. She loved all three of them like family. They would make it work.

"I'm not just handing him over. It's not like I'm ditching you two and running off into the sunset. I want to be part of his life too, just… as an uncle. And yeah, it'll be nasty but I'll do diapers if I absolutely have to. I'm not a deadbeat. And now that I think about it, I'll take your wager." Dean watched a younger couple walk fast towards the parking lot, their purchases in hand. "How long's it been now?"

"Since what?"

"Since they took her."

"Uh, forty eight hours. Two full days." Sam took a deep breath, the lightheartedness of their conversation lost.

"Okay, so he should be showin' up anytime now."

* * *

Tristram didn't show up that day. They stayed the night in a nearby motel, hoping he wouldn't show up in the wee hours of the morning. It was less than ideal, but the night was too cold for them to hole up in the Impala. Nevertheless, they took turns getting what sleep they could and left the room early the next day to continue wandering around that same shopping center.

"Man, I don't know if this flu thing is ever gonna let up." Dean said, holding his stomach as they neared the duck pond for the fifth time.

"Just hold it in, Dean. We'll get something for it soon." Sam watched his brother walked hunched over for a few seconds before straightening up again. The stomach cramps were getting worse, apparently. Probably due to a lack of rest and nutritional rehab. Dean needed sleep, fluids, electrolytes, and sustenance to heal and he was getting very little of those. Not that he complained at all hours of the day. Mostly, he just tried not to puke. Sam's nose was running more than yesterday, but thank goodness he didn't have the same cold Dean had.

"This sucks."

"Understatement."

* * *

Four o'clock rolled around and found the brothers sitting in the food court of the shopping center, sipping coffee and trying not to glare at every employee who walked by. There were only two food vendors still open, out of the entire building devoted to feeding the shopping masses. Sam supposed that was a good thing, at least for them; less people to get possessed. Dean was just glad one of the vendors sold coffee.

He didn't see the employee until Sam stiffened at her approach. She was in her early twenties, two long blond braids hanging out of a uniform hat that had a cartoon pretzel on the front. Her pink apron matched her hat. The woman stopped right beside their table and looked at each of the men before turning and walking away.

"Finally." Dean grumbled, downing the rest of his coffee.

Sam abandoned his cup and the pair stood, leaving the seating area to stand in the main drag of the food court and wait. No way were they going to follow the demon to wherever Tristram wanted to do this. He had to come to them.

The woman stopped just before the glass double doors that led outside and turned to watch the brothers.

It wasn't more than thirty seconds before Sam caught sight of movement beyond those doors.

"Don't try anything, Dean." Sam warned quietly, his stomach in knots as every bad outcome of this situation ran through his head. Ali could be already hurt, or get hurt in the trade. Dean could pull a stunt and get himself killed. Tristram could go back on his promise and take the lockbox from them without returning the girl. He might just kill them both and not bat an eye.

"Wasn't planning on it." Dean reached back and made sure the demon knife was still secured in its sheath under his coat. _Just in case._

Tristram was in the same vessel he had at the supermarket. That made him easy to single out.

"Where is she?" Sam called across the room as the demon walked in, flanked by a woman in a puffy red coat and a man in a black hoodie. Probably just people off the street. Civilians. Sam hoped the demon would leave them behind like he had the ten or so people his followers took at the supermarket.

"Bring her." Tristram said calmly as he came closer.

They heard her before they saw her. An older man with gray hair walked in holding Ali's arms behind her back at a painful looking angle, using them to push her forward. She wasn't saying actual words, but was making plenty of angry noises as she thrashed against the man holding her. Her eyes were shut tight. A small black bruise colored the right side of her jaw and her coat was torn in a few different places. She certainly hadn't been a passive prisoner.

"Ali." Sam's heart leapt back to life as soon as he saw her. _She's alive, she's okay, she's still fighting._

"Don't do anything stupid, Sam. We've got a deal to make before she's even remotely safe." Dean grabbed Sam's arm as his younger brother started towards the approaching group. Nerves on high alert, he glanced behind them to make sure they weren't being surrounded. As far as he could tell, they were not.

Ali didn't hear them, but continued to struggle even when the old man stopped just beside Tristram's right hand man.

"My companion?" Tristram asked flatly. He sounded about as happy to be there as the brothers.

"We brought it." Dean answered bitterly, crossing his arms and glaring daggers at Tristram. "Who hit her?"

"This woman has far too much rebellion in her for her own good. She proved difficult to contain. One of my demons grew impatient with her and struck her only once. He was terminated immediately. I will not stand for such treatment of the vessel of my companion's choosing. Nor any female, for that matter. Lady or not." As Tristram spoke, all the demons who entered with him stared straight ahead, knowing that if they screwed up, they too would be crushed to nothing. The demon holding Ali even seemed to be sweating a bit, fear in his eyes every time she threw herself to one side or the other. One bruise and he was toast.

"How are we gonna do this?" Sam asked, hooking a thumb under one of the straps on the backpack. There was about twenty feet of space between the two sides. Just twenty feet between him and Ali. So close it stung, shoving the fact that they'd failed her right in their faces.

"I give you the woman, you give me the prison holding Francesca. I am a man of my word, gentlemen. The trade will be even." Tristram walked briskly to the gray haired man and took Ali by one arm, pulling her forward as she clawed at his hand and slid along the linoleum floor with her shoes not leaving the ground. Her eyes were still screwed shut and this time, she was yelling actual words. Curse words, threats, pleas for freedom. It hurt Sam just to watch.

The demon stopped halfway between the parties, waiting for them to approach.

Both brothers walked slowly and deliberately, stopping just three feet from the pair.

"As a show of good faith, I first present you with your comrade." Tristram pushed Ali forward, still protesting violently, until she was just a foot from the pair.

"Li, hey." Dean called carefully, not wanting to get knocked if she didn't recognize him right away. The fiery woman had already floored him more than once in the past and he didn't want a repeat performance.

Tristram realized what was causing the delay in his trade and shocked the brothers by violently shaking Ali until she quieted down. "Open your eyes, harlot. See what you've been begging for."

Ali stifled a terrified sob and slid her eyes open, blurry with tears. She found the tall one first. "Sam?" Hope swelled up in her voice as she swallowed hard and looked around, finding Dean. "Dean." She reached out to Dean, who was the closest by a few feet, and fell into him when Tristram released her arm. Dean half dragged, half carried her until they were just behind and to the side of Sam. She was shaking, sobbing quietly as she struggled to hold her own weight, arms clenched tightly around her brother, face buried in his shirt.

"And my companion?" Tristram looked to Sam with his hand outstretched. Sam took the bag off his shoulder and handed it to the demon, who promptly dropped it. "In my time, deceitful actions such as this were punishable by death." He growled. "Remove the prison from that vile thing or I will take both the bag and the woman when I leave."

Sam, seeing that his attempt at foiling the demon had failed, knelt and pulled Francesca's box from the warded backpack, putting the empty thing back on his shoulder before holding the box out to Tristram.

"See that you make no mistake as foolish as this again, Winchester. I will not be so forgiving in the future." Tristram took the box and glared at both brothers with his perpetually black eyes before turning back. "Demons, leave your humans here to recover where they will not perish of cold. I will call when I have need."

Sam flinched as all the demons but Tristram smoked out in a thunderous roar and flew away, out of sight. The young hunter didn't turn away until Tristram was out of the building.

"Ali?"

"Sam, I think somethin' happened to her."

* * *

"Just try to get some rest. We're still a long way from stopping." Sam sat in the passenger seat of the little red car with Ali in his lap, curled sideways against his chest and weeping softly as he held her close.

When they high-tailed it out of that shopping center, Sam carried Ali while Dean made sure they weren't ambushed or overtly followed. Even once in the car and on the highway, they couldn't relax. Dean was sure they would be tailed, tracked by some undercover demon, or team of demons, whose job it was to keep tabs on Ali's location. He tried to figure out a way to lose them while Sam fretted over Ali, who wouldn't say a word. She just clung to him and cried, responding only to the question 'is the baby okay', and even that was just a nod.

Sam hoped she was just exhausted.

But that wouldn't be their kind of luck.

* * *

After hours of driving, Dean was pretty sure they lost any 'klingons' that may have been following them. The trio got carry out at a fast food place and holed up in a motel for the evening. Ali hadn't slept much, if at all, on the way there, but she did stop crying. Sam managed to convince her to drink something and she surprised them by downing the whole bottle of sugary blue stuff in one go. Yet she refused the offer of food when they stopped earlier in the day. They figured she didn't feel well and decided not to push her too far.

"Hungry?" Dean asked, setting the brown paper bag of greasy goodness on the table in their room as Sam laid the salt.

Ali slowly shook her head from where she sat on the edge of the far bed. She looked exhausted, just staring hollowly at the floor.

"C'mon, Li. We've been driving for six hours. You _have_ to be hungry." Dean frowned when he didn't get a response.

Sam finished sealing the room and grabbed a burger from the bag before sitting next to Ali on the bed with a weary sigh. "Please eat something." He held the burger out in front of her. "We won't eat until you do."

Dean abandoned the bag and went to sit emptyhanded opposite Ali on the other bed. The woman looked blankly at Sam, then Dean. She sniffed her nose and took the burger with a sigh, unwrapping it painfully slowly. As soon as she took a bite Dean brought the bag over to the beds and the three of them ate right there, together.

Once Ali had eaten her fill- she devoured her food and some of Sam's too- she seemed to have trouble keeping her eyes open. Both men noticed the uncomfortable state her clothes were in; there was blood from the fight at the store, dirt probably from being dragged, and more red on the cuffs of her coat, around her wrists. "Ali, do you want to wash off before bed?" Sam asked gently after all the food was gone.

She shook her head and wound her arm around his, moving closer, until she could lean her head tiredly against his shoulder.

"Can I see your wrists?"

Ali tightened her hold on Sam's arm, closing her eyes as she took a deep breath.

"Hey, guys?" Dean caught Sam's attention. He stood near the door, coat on, keys in hand. "My head's killin' me. I gotta get somethin'. You need anything from the store?"

"Gatorade." Sam almost sneered at the fizzy, sugary drinks they got at the fast food joint. Those weren't helping her replace electrolytes very well, if at all, but at least they helped bring her blood sugar up quickly.

"Got it. Call if you think of anything else." With that, Dean left, carefully preserving the salt lines as he closed the door.

"Ali, I need to see your wrists." Sam said once the sound of that red car's engine faded away. "Please?"

No response.

 _Damn. So this is how she felt when I broke down after the club._ Sam frowned, remembering just a few days ago when he'd nearly killed Ali after a siren got to him. He thought Ali and the baby were gone forever because of him and he just shut down. Dean couldn't get him to respond and, when she finally woke up after Cas healed her, neither could Ali. At least until she punched him after a soulful, fruitless, one-sided conversation and having her own breakdown. That was a rough day. For everyone.

Ali sniffed her nose again and pressed her forehead against his arm, trying not to cry.

"What- uh, what if I helped you wash off and we changed into some more comfortable clothes? Promise I won't try anything." Sam said gently, running a thumb over her cheek with his free hand.

She heaved one sob, the tears started to flow, and she nodded.

Sam kept his promise. He helped her stand and walked her to the bathroom. She sat on the closed toilet lid while he started the water so it could warm up.

He kept his movements slow and deliberate; the last thing Sam wanted to do was cross a line. He still didn't know what Tristram had done to her and she didn't need any more scares. "Ali?"

All she did was sniff her nose. She didn't even look up from the floor.

"Can you…" _Man up, dude. Just ask her. It's not like it'll be the first time._ "Can I help you get those clothes off?" Nervous as he was, Sam resisted the urge to wring his hands or bite his nails. He was doing this for _her_. _She_ needed him. Now was not a good time to get embarrassed or flustered.

She nodded and took a deep breath.

Sam got worried when she closed her eyes. "Ali?" He knelt down on the tile in front of her and lifted her chin, holding her face until she opened two teary eyes. "I'll go slow. Okay?"

Ali nodded and sniffed again, wringing her hands in her lap.

He could tell she was uncomfortable. It was making him uncomfortable too. So he took his shirts off first, thinking maybe she wouldn't feel ogled if they undressed together. "Want to leave underwear on, er…?"

Her eyes closed again, but she shook her head.

 _She's uncomfortable, but not because of me. Those clothes can't feel good after being in them this long._ Sam tucked her hair behind her ears and kissed her forehead before taking the hem of her shirt. "Ready?"

One nod was all he got.

They took their time. He got all but her bra off before pulling her to her feet and easing her jeans down, being very careful of her belly, which he knew would be starting to get sore. It was growing quickly, after all, and was probably rubbed raw after days of constant contact with that rough material.

His pants followed, but before they could get any further, the tears started to flow and she fell into him, holding on for dear life and pulling herself as close as possible. He brought her closer still, just gently rubbing her back and whispering reassuring nothings in her ear until the soft sobs quieted down and she let go of her own accord.

She surprised him by unstrapping her bra and letting it fall. It was a… nice surprise. Kinda too nice, actually. _Don't try anything. You promised. Just ignore it…_

Before long they were both engulfed in steam, perfectly comfortable with no barriers between them. Sam took the liberty of getting a good look at her as they showered. It certainly wasn't the first time they'd seen each other au naturale, but it hadn't happened often enough to lose its novelty… or its effect on him, which he tried to stifle as best he could. He checked the bruise on her face as he wiped her tears away. He let the warm water wash the dried blood from her wrists as he turned them over in his hands. They looked like they'd been sliced with a zip tie a few too many times. He held her close, skin to skin, when she started sobbing again and didn't let go until she did. She finally stopped shaking as he washed her body, getting the last of the blood and dirt off of her beautiful skin. He took extra care with her middle, which still fascinated him to no end; the soft curve of her belly, just starting to show, and the inviting warmth intoxicated him whenever she let him near, even before he knew about the baby. Sam had always wanted children and he used to let himself pretend that Ali was carrying their child when the two of them got… intimate. As it turns out, she was actually already pregnant the first time he remembered that happening. Go figure.

He could have sworn she nearly fell asleep as he scrubbed her hair clean; she had been pressing her forehead against his chest, eyes closed, arms around him, when her arms dropped and she flinched hard, gasping softly before returning her arms to their original positions with a sigh.

The pair rinsed the remaining soap away and Sam wrapped a towel around his waist before helping Ali dry off. He helped her into her softest pajamas- packed by Sam himself- and bandaged her wrists, all the while doing his best to not startle her as she nodded off and snapped back to life every few seconds. They were both dressed and nestled under the covers within minutes. Sam kept his distance, thinking that maybe she would want some space after the closeness of the shower. He took the side that was open after half carrying her to the closest bed.

Apparently she did not want space. After a few minutes, she started to fidget, tossing and turning and making nervous little sounds in the dim light. If Sam moved a muscle, she'd jump and stiffen immediately, going completely silent and completely still.

"It's just me." Sam whispered, finally deciding that space was a bad idea. He pulled her close against him, curling his body around hers, hoping she felt protected that way. And from the way she moved and breathed after a few minutes, it was the safest she'd felt in days. She was fast asleep before Dean got back.

Sam had left one light on for his brother and it was by that light that Dean noticed Sam was still awake when he closed the door.

"She okay?" Dean whispered, quietly setting the bag of medicine, drinks, and tissues on the table before shucking his coat.

'No.' Sam mouthed, not wanting to wake her. She had fought sleep like it was a monster but after quite a few reassurances and plenty of body heat- which he already knew she absolutely loved- her muscles started to relax and her breathing evened out.

"You got her to sleep, though?"

'Yeah.'

"Good. She say anything yet?"

'No.'

"Anything happen while I was gone?"

'No.'

"Want some drugs?"

Honestly, he wouldn't mind not having the headache that had nagged at his brain all day long, and he was pretty sure most of the body heat that was calming Ali was from a fever. But he just couldn't bring himself to risk waking her up for something as trivial as that. 'Can't.'

"You can dry swallow, right? I got pills this time."

A smile spread across his face; he couldn't swing taking the liquid stuff in that position, but pills? Those were perfect. 'You're awesome.'

Somehow, Dean knew exactly what Sam was trying to say. "I know." He carefully, oh so quietly freed a cold pill from its foil packaging and popped it in Sam's mouth. It wasn't the first time they'd done something like that, weird as it was; no matter how the other was incapacitated, the brothers watched out for each other. Dean went back to the bag and got himself the same kind of pill. "Early mornin' tomorrow. Sleep tight, squirt."

'Gross.'

"Ain't that the truth."

Sam rolled his eyes and couldn't help but grin. Once the light was off, he moved a little closer to the woman he loved and fell asleep with his lips just brushing the back of her head.

* * *

 **A/N: Yay Ali is kinda back! Let me know what you think. See you next time!**


	5. Off to the Farm

**A/N: Vivi here! Sorry I missed a week. Haven't had much time to write lately. That's why this chapter is so short. I'll try to have more next time!**

 **Also, watch out for the POV shift.**

* * *

 _Previously on Enter the World:_

 _Sam rolled his eyes and couldn't help but grin. Once the light was off, he moved a little closer to the woman he loved and fell asleep with his lips just brushing the back of her head._

* * *

"No…"

"We gotta get up, Ali. It's not safe to stay here for longer than we have to."

"No…"

"Please? Dean's already up. He's gonna leave without us."

Sam couldn't help but smile at the halfhearted grumbling from the crazy mess of hair in front of him. He knew she was awake and in much better spirits than yesterday, but whenever he tried to pull his arm away from her side she caught it and held it in place. "You can sleep more in the car, if you want."

He took the quieter grumbles as permission and withdrew his arm. "You'll want to get dressed, though."

"No…"

* * *

Ali did sleep in the car, but not in Sam's lap. She was nestled between the brothers on the tiny two-seater bench and passed out against Sam's shoulder, holding his hand in hers on her lap.

"Since when are you two so lovey-dovey?" Dean asked quietly as they passed a 'Welcome to Utah' sign.

"Since yesterday, I guess. She's usually not so physical about it around other people." Sam glanced down at Ali, sleeping peacefully like she hadn't slept in days.

"Maybe she's marking you. Like you're her mate."

"Dude. We're not animals."

Dean grinned at his own joke. "But you are her mate. She's bearing your young and everything." Dean glanced at Sam to catch the indignant sigh and face palm, which only served to widen his smile. "Hey, how do you think she'll handle the move?"

"She'll be fine. She knows why we can't go home for a while." He reached over and tucked some rogue hairs back behind her ear. The corners of her lips pulled up just a little, just for a second at the touch and she sighed in her sleep.

"You think she'll get used to living with everyone in the same house?"

"She'll have to."

* * *

"We're picking up your car? In Utah?" I asked quietly as we pulled up to an impound lot for the city of Orem, Utah. Apparently Dean did some calling around and found out his Baby had been towed to this very lot a few days ago, after Cas flew us back to the bunker from Orem City General hospital.

 _Cas…_ I was too ready to see the angel; I thought he had been killed when I was taken. Imagine my shock and relief when the guys told me that he was alive. Not really okay, but alive. They wouldn't tell me much more.

It took a long time for me to stop crying after that.

"Yes we are." Dean said, as if that as the perfect defense for his actions.

"Isn't the window…?" I watched him walk away toward the front office. Surely the passenger window was still busted out from when Sam had to get into the car and come save Dean and I on the other side of the city. While Sam and I were drugged and flying higher than kites on a windy day.

"Yup."

Sure enough, the Impala was there and once she was freed, Sam and I followed Dean to the motel we had stayed at just last week when we were hunting the siren.

"Pop the trunk, Sammy." Dean said when we pulled into the parking space next to the Impala. Sam did and I watched, truly befuddled, as Dean and Sam pulled a literal car window from the trunk of the little red two seater.

I sat on the hood of the red car and watched as the brothers set to work fixing the window. After a few minutes, Dean noticed my obvious confusion.

"Got it the morning I went on that drunken rampage." Dean said from behind the door. He was hard at work removing the inside panel while Sam painstakingly removed the duct tape and garbage bag that the impound lot put in place to protect the interior of the car.

"When you yelled at Sam and left?" I asked softly, trying to make my voice sound like I didn't have a stopped up nose. The thing hadn't been clear for days. I wasn't getting sick; I was pretty sure all the saltwater running through there would keep that from happening, even if it did plug my nose.

"Yeah. That one. I was honestly just going to get the window when I saw a liquor store and… yeah. Scrap yard not far from the bunker had it and I didn't know when I'd get another chance to pick one up." Dean refused to look at me. "Didn't make a lot of good decisions that day."

"No you did not." I shivered as memories of empty bottles and garbage bags and vomit and fevers and blankets and soup filled my head. "I'll get the stuff we left."

"Here." Dean popped open the Impala's glove box and tossed me a key. I figured it was for the motel room we so hastily abandoned after the last case.

I was right. I set to work rounding up the things we left the week before. No part of me ever expected to see those things again. I figured we wouldn't be able to make it back to Orem from the bunker before the nights we paid for ran out and the manager took our stuff and sold it… Or called the police. Most of our arsenal was in the closet; with the window on the Impala busted out, we decided against leaving all the weapons in the trunk.

"Hello, beautiful." I smiled as I found my handgun. Pink on the top and matte black everywhere else. A gift from Dean, after I finished my training. Quickly, I stuffed all the gear into a duffel and hauled it out to the Impala, setting it carefully in the trunk. I did the same with Dean's bag of stuff, Sam's bag of stuff, and my own bag of stuff. I did, however, leave that fugly blue sequin club dress behind. No good memories for _any_ of us involved that thing. And I was pretty sure those stains were never going to come out anyway.

"Got it all?" Sam asked when I closed the motel door and went back to sit on the red car's hood.

"Yeah."

"Good."

"Just finished putting the last screw in place." Dean grinned as he rolled his new window up into place and pressed his nose to it, making a face at me.

I couldn't help but laugh; he crossed his eyes and scrunched his nose and stuck his tongue out and it was the funnies thing I had seen in months. And that was the deepest, most satisfying laugh I'd had in a long time. It was well and truly a belly laugh.

I wasn't sure if it was Dean's funny face or my laugh, but Sam cracked up too.

Without losing his grin, Dean went around to the driver's side of his Baby. "Let's head to the farm. We got a long day ahead of us."

* * *

"Where is this place?" I asked after an hour on the road. Sam and I were following Dean in the red car, speeding down the highway. Occasionally, we'd see the oldest Winchester get really into a song and start singing, pulling drum solos on the wheel, the seat, the roof, maybe throwing in an air guitar now and then. It was our source of entertainment for the time being.

"Central Nebraska."

"Why Nebraska?"

"That's where they lived before their bar was burned down by demons."

"So they've always lived there?"

"Ever since we've known them. Dad knew Bill back in the day but… just don't bring Dad or Bill up around them, okay?"

"Why?"

"Dad made a mistake and got Bill killed on a hunt. It's still kind of an open wound."

"Oh."

"They're good people, don't get me wrong, but both of them are a little hot-headed. Best to tread lightly until you get to know 'em."

"Note taken."

We went another hour in silence, Sam driving with some kind of mix radio station playing quietly in the background and me dozing or staring out the window.

"What happened with Tristram?"

I whipped my head around at the name, adrenaline flooding my body as I blinked some sleepiness out of my eyes. "Huh?"

"What happened while you were with Tristram? You wouldn't say anything when we got you back and you were acting kinda weird." Sam glanced over at me with worried eyes before looking back to the road. His hand found mine on the seat between us. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm okay now. It certainly wasn't the worst thing that ever happened to me." I took a deep breath and shrugged. "Uh… want the condensed version?"

"I want whatever version you'll give me."

"Right. So…" I took a moment to gather my thoughts. When I finally spoke, my voice was small and hesitant, reflecting how I felt about retelling my tale. "Tristram took me outside the grocery store and freed the vessels. He shoved me into an SUV that had one of his demons in the driver's seat. He held me against the seat with that… demon mind power thing so I wouldn't struggle. From the time he took me until he pulled me out at the shopping center, I didn't leave the car for more than two minutes at a time. The driver would stop to get gas and Tristram would sometimes let me use the bathroom." I realized my eyes were closed and I shivered, feeling my face get hot and the first inklings of traumatized tears prick into being. Sam squeezed my hand and brought me back to the present. With a deep breath, I continued. "I don't think he remembers what it's like to be human. He was all gung-ho to preserve life back at the store and he _did_ release all those people… didn't kill a single person while I was with him… but he starved me. The only time I got anything to drink was when we stopped and he let me use the bathroom. I begged for food but after a few hours of that he forced me to stop talking _and_ held me still with his power. I about lost my mind."

"Ali, why didn't you tell us right away?" Sam exclaimed, looking at me. I wouldn't meet his eyes. "We wouldn't have driven so long before we got something to eat."

"I couldn't…"

"You couldn't talk? Didn't he free you as soon as he left?"

"I could talk. I couldn't… I couldn't believe it was finally over. It was like being possessed but with nothing… extra in my head. I just couldn't move. And then- then he dragged me out of the car and shook me so hard I got dizzy and I saw you and Dean and I just couldn't believe it was over." Full fledged tears blurred my vision and stopped up my nose. "I just needed a while to ground myself."

"Ali…" Sam looked distraught, lost. "I'm so sorry we let this happen. We should've known-"

"You didn't let it happen. No one let it happen. It just happened, Sam. And you did exactly what I needed you to do when you..." I sent him a sad smile and pulled my arm across my face to get rid of the worthless tears. "I needed you to ground me to the present and you did that in the car. I needed you to remind me that eating was important and you did that at the motel. I wasn't even hungry at that point. I was so beyond hungry that the thought of food made me nauseous." A nervous laugh left me and I sniffed my nose. "I needed you to remind me that _I_ was important and not just a thing to be traded and used. You… you did that in the shower."

"I didn't cross a line, did I?" Sam asked, mirroring my nervous tone.

"You did, but it was a good line. We, uh… we should do that again sometime. Sometime soon. I want to participate a little more next time."

"Oh." Blood rushed to Sam's cheeks.

"But the most important thing you did for me was just hold me all night long. Because I was strung out and exhausted and nothing made sense anymore and I was afraid. But you were there. You didn't leave me, and you talked to me like I meant something to you, and you were so close to me, and you held my belly, and I finally felt safe again. You let me rest, Sam. I needed that." I squeezed his hand and turned to look out my window again. "You did everything right."

"I don't feel that way." Sam frowned. "We lost Francesca. We had to trade her to get you back. Don't get me wrong, I'd do it a thousand times over if I had to. I just hate that she'll be out in the world again. She could hurt you, Ali."

 _She's back._ I closed my eyes and swallowed hard. There wasn't even a way for me to be angry with Sam; I knew exactly why he did what he did and I would have done the same thing for him. Still… _Why didn't they just kill her when they had the chance? It would have been easier for us both to die than to have her after me for the rest of my life._ "Yes she could. And she probably will."

"I'm sorry, Ali. Dean and I are prepared to do whatever is necessary to protect you and put an end to that demon once and for all. We're in it for the long haul, remember? This is our fault and we have to deal with the consequences." Sam squeezed my hand. "All you have to do is stay safe."

"It isn't your fault she's after me."

"It's our fault she's loose again."

"It's also your fault that _I_ 'm loose again."

"Ali, those aren't the same-"

"If you don't stop with the whiny-guilty-hero thing, I'm gonna barf. We're together again, we're relatively safe, and with any luck the demons don't know where we are or where we're going. Can't we just… I don't know. Be content for a while? All this conflict is wearing me out."

Sam sighed. "We don't really have any other choice. Cas is down, Dean and I are still sick, we have no idea what Tristram even wants to do now that he's free, and we have no way of retaliating against him while he has his followers on call. We need time to come up with a plan."

"That's why we're going to the farm?"

"Got it in one."

* * *

 **A/N: Leave me words. See you soon!**


	6. Free Labor

**A/N: Vivi here! Sorry for not posting last week. Writer's block and a lack of free time (and a surprise exam) kinda stunted my plot progress. However, I have kinda caught up with the three fics I'm working on. JB, ETW, and one that will come out soon (if I can ever get it done). So, again, sorry about last week.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Previously on Enter the World:_

 _Sam sighed. "We don't really have any other choice. Cas is down, Dean and I are still sick, we have no idea what Tristram even wants to do now that he's free, and we have no way of retaliating against him while he has his followers on call. We need time to come up with a plan."_

 _"That's why we're going to the farm?"_

 _"Got it in one."_

* * *

"This place is really nice." I couldn't help but smile as we rolled down a winding gravel driveway, bordered on either side by decorative white fencing and fields of grass that were just starting to lose some color from the change in season. It was September, after all.

"They did a lot of work to make it look like this, or so I've been told. Bought the property cheap and fixed it up. Now they rent out the barn." Sam kept his eyes locked on the driveway, dodging the potholes that Bobby and Dean found and missed ahead of us. "I don't know why they want so many people to know where they live. It was the same way with the Roadhouse and we know how that turned out."

"You said they had some kind of warding in place?"

"They do now. We asked Bobby to put it in special to protect them from our new fanclub."

"Oh. Good." I shifted in my seat, uncomfortable with the thought that we were putting some of our fellow hunters in jeopardy just by being around them.

The feeling was quickly lost, though, as we crested a small hill and two big structures came into view. The larger was a very old looking barn with weathered wood panels for walls, a slate roof, and more windows than I thought a typical barn should have. Some distance away from it and to the right was a house. It was larger than any I'd ever lived in but not large enough to scream wealth and luxury. The siding was a quaint white wood with each window flanked by shutters made of the same wood as the barn siding. A gray shingle roof sat up top and a bright red front door welcomed its inhabitants from a large front porch. Airy white curtains shielded the interior from view. Each structure looked very natural with its companion, complementing the other and giving the property a homey feel.

"It's perfect." I whispered with a growing smile on my face.

Sam chuckled beside me. "Glad you like it. We'll be living here for a while."

"And they're okay with that?"

"We're free labor."

* * *

"Is this who I think it is?"

Sam had to pull me along towards the house. Meeting new people was never my forte and this was really pushing my limits; if I screwed up the first impression with these people, they might not let me stay. And this was the only safe place for us right now.

Bobby had already left his car and was standing on the porch, looking grumpy with his arms crossed, next to a woman with long brown hair. Next to her stood a woman closer to my age with beautiful blonde hair, who looked about as happy as Bobby. These were probably the mother and daughter I'd been hearing so much about. The Harvelles.

"What are we now? Chopped liver?" Dean grinned as he walked ahead of us up to the porch.

"Oh, shut up, Winchester. I've had enough of you already." The older woman smiled and hugged him. The younger woman broke her frown and play punched Dean when he opened his arms for a hug.

"Ellen, Jo, this is Ali." Sam tugged me up the stairs to the porch and put his arm around my shoulders when I froze up. "Ali, this is Ellen and Jo Harvelle. Family friends of ours."

"Hi." I said nervously, trying my best to smile while simultaneously leaning into Sam and trying to disappear.

"Sweetheart, we don't bite. I promise." Ellen smiled and moved to shake my hand. That action alone made me feel much calmer with the whole situation.

"This one might." Dean pointed subtly at Jo, who then turned and punched his shoulder again.

"Ass." She growled, blushing profusely as she crossed her arms again and glared at Dean. He just grinned and chuckled to himself.

"Dean, leave the girl alone." Bobby barked, sounding more like a father than I'd ever heard him.

"You should be tellin' that to Sam." Dean donned a shit-eating grin and looked directly at Sam.

Sam lost his smile, eyes getting wide as he shook his head and mouthed 'not yet'.

I could have sworn Dean stuck his tongue out just a little. He spoke in a sing song voice and I knew this wasn't going to be good. "Somebody's pregnant."

" _Dean._ " Sam hissed. My mouth fell open and my hand whipped up to cover it. With innocent eyes, I looked to Ellen. Her reaction would determine whether or not I would ever feel comfortable staying there after that little outburst. Whether we would be allowed to stay at all.

"What? They had to find out eventually. Might as well get it over with now." Dean shrugged, not regretting his decision in the slightest.

"Is that true?" Bobby's eyes were just as grumpy as they had been since he met us at the highway to show us the way to the house. And those grumpy eyes were boring two twin holes in my soul.

Had I been able to melt into Sam, or run away, or grab the keys and high tail it out of there, I would've. But none of those were viable options at the moment.

"Yeah." I breathed, letting my hand fall to trace the outline of my belly as if that was proof enough. As if they needed proof.

"Sam? That your doin'?" Bobby abandoned his attack on my confidence and instead looked to Sam, just as grumpy and shrewd as earlier.

Sam sounded about as confident as I had. I felt him pull me just a little closer. "Yeah."

A tense silence followed and I saw Dean's smile fade away. _Yeah, you screwed up, asshat. Your timing sucks._

Ellen and Jo exchanged an unreadable glance before Ellen looked to Bobby for his reaction, both wearing perfect poker faces.

 _They're gonna kick me out. They're not gonna help us. I doomed us- there's gotta be somewhere else we can stay. Somewhere safe and inconspicuous-_

"Never thought I'd see the day." Bobby said, a slow smile spread on his face. "All this time I thought one of you was gonna find out you were a daddy by way of snail mail from the little miss, but I can say I'm glad I was wrong. Now, I gotta ask. Both of you are in favor of this?" The smile faded, replaced by a stern but gentle expression.

"What?" Sam stammered, taken by surprise.

"Nobody's gettin' unfairly used here, right? Neither of you was guilted er tricked into this little arrangement?"

"No." Sam scoffed, looking between me and Bobby with offense on his face. "No, as soon as I found out she was pregnant, I knew I was gonna be right by her side the whole rest of the way. That baby is _going_ to have a father."

"And you?" Bobby looked to me at that point, just as stern, just as patient.

"I mean… He wasn't exactly planned- that's a long story- but I was going to keep him whether Sam wanted a part in his life or not. I just… I just told him I was pregnant and he stepped up. No convincing, no guilt tripping, none of that." I said quietly, looking at the porch floor instead of meeting Bobby's disapproving gaze.

"It's true. I was there for the whole shebang." Dean moved to stand next to Sam, hands in his pockets. "No yelling or fighting or begging or anything like that. Hell, you can even ask Cas. He was there, too."

"Why was Cas there?" Bobby asked, confused. "Why were _you_ there?"

"Long story." Sam squeezed my shoulder, no doubt trying to comfort me. It didn't really make a difference.

"I got time." Bobby sounded much more lighthearted after that. "We don't got an event to set up for until tomorrow, so you're gonna sit your asses down and fill us in." He motioned for us to go through the bright red front door that I'd forgotten existed.

"I'll make some coffee." Ellen smiled at Sam and I before turning and going into the house, holding the door open until Jo followed her. The daughter seemed to be in better spirits than her mother was, but she still didn't say anything to us until we were on a well-loved, green, plaid sofa in her living room.

"I'm Jo." She smiled and shook hands with me, taking the seat next to me before Dean could sit. He grumbled and plopped down on a mismatched loveseat across the room. "So you're showing already. Second trimester?"

I leaned into Sam and away from Jo, but tried to hide the action. "Uh, yeah. First week."

"You're only thirteen weeks? You shouldn't be showing yet." Jo looked me up and down, unconvinced. I worried that she thought I was lying to her.

"All pregnancies are different, Jo, honey. Some women show earlier and some don't show at all. Though being a skinny little thing like Ali here might help the former." Ellen returned from what I guessed was the kitchen. She took an armchair that sat next to the loveseat and smiled kindly. "I don't know how you live with these boys. Especially that one." She motioned over her shoulder at Dean, who looked offended.

He didn't get a chance to talk before Bobby arrived and sat next to him. "Angel's been checked. We've got an hour before somebody's gotta go up again. Let's hear that story."

* * *

"Oh, honey." Ellen looked upset when Sam finished telling them about the whole ordeal with Francesca. He kindly left out the part where the demon raped Dean and Cas in addition to himself. That part we'd agreed to withhold when we decided not to tell Bobby until we saw him face to face. For all the rest of them knew, Francesca just beat Dean and Cas within an inch of their lives. Dean was the one who suggested having them think that the kid was definitely, 100% Sam's and not maybe-Sam's maybe-Dean's.

"So she was 'with child' while I was still hangin' around that bunker?" Bobby asked, looking disturbed. A moment later, I watched him run through several emotions before he landed on anger. "She went into my overrun house _pregnant_?! That place was crawlin' with demons and shifters- how the hell could you let her do that?"

I flinched when he yelled and accidentally dug my fingernails into the back of Sam's hand. _He's probably not going to want to hold hands for a while._ He didn't pull away, for which I was grateful.

"Bobby, we didn't know then." Dean said, trying to talk the man down. "We didn't know for a while, actually."

"Did she know?" Bobby looked to me expectedly.

I took a deep breath and sighed. _You knew what you were in for when you made Cas promise not to tell anyone. When you didn't tell anyone for way too long._ "I knew the day Cas woke up." I said quietly, guiltily looking Bobby in the eye.

"So you knowingly risked the kid? For what?" Bobby asked sternly, not looking any less angry than before. "Were you tryin' to get rid of 'im?"

"No! I was- I was… I was scared."

"Scared of what?"

"Being alone again." My shoulders drooped and I couldn't look at anyone. I felt every eye in the room looking at me, judging me.

"What do you mean?" Ellen spoke softly. Not necessarily kindly, but the way she spoke didn't make me think she was judging me anymore.

Still, I couldn't bring myself to try and make them understand.

Sam took up the slack for me. "If we knew she was pregnant, we wouldn't have let her come with us on any jobs. She would have been alone at the bunker the entire time we were gone and she hates being alone. I mean, we left her all the time before we pulled the demon out the first time and she…"

 _Don't tell them I was suicidal. Please, Sam. I don't need that kind of pity._

"She didn't do well. It's our fault she felt like that." Sam frowned. "She didn't have a choice."

"There's always a choice." Bobby hadn't lost much of his harsh tone.

"What's done is done." I said bitterly, glaring at him. "I didn't put him in any situation where I wasn't confident that he'd be okay. And if he got hurt it would be my fault."

"But he _did_ get hurt. And it was my fault." Sam said quietly. "We almost lost him because of me."

"Sam, for the last time, the _siren_ almost killed the kid, not you. There was nothing you could've done." Dean said firmly, leaning forward in his seat and looking right at Sam. "I'm the one who let the two of you get poisoned in the first place."

"Okay, enough." My voice was starting to sound like Bobby's. "Dean, the siren poisoned us. Sam, the siren made you kick me. I'm the one who walked right into both of those situations knowing I was the only one responsible for the little guy. Can we just drop it?"

"Y'know, that sounds like a good idea." Ellen said quickly, before Bobby was able to butt in. "It's been an hour and someone needs to see to that angel. And I'm sure the boys and Ali would like to know where they're staying tonight."

Before any of us could agree or disagree, Ellen was ushering us up the stairs in the next room. "Cas is second door on the left. Boys, one of you will be in with him and the other with Bobby. Ali, you're bunking with Jo. First door on the left. Bathroom is first on the right, then Bobby, then me."

"Wait, I can't stay with Ali?" Sam asked, stopping dead in his tracks. Dean continued on into Cas' room without missing a beat.

"We don't have enough rooms, Sam. That, and Bobby has made it clear that he doesn't want any co-ed arrangements while he's under the same roof." Ellen shrugged with a smile. "I don't want to wake up to that either, tell ya the truth."

Sam and I blushed, which only made Ellen laugh. She went back downstairs and I started wringing my hands. "I don't even know Jo. How am I supposed to be roomies with her?" I asked Sam quietly, trying not to let my voice carry.

He pulled me into a hug and kissed my head. "It's gonna be okay, Ali. This isn't a permanent arrangement. We just need to stay here until we can come up with a solid plan to take out Francesca and Tristram."

"I don't like it. I want to stay with you."

"We don't own the house. We're guests, remember?"

* * *

We were not guests in Ellen's house. I found that out the next day, after one very uncomfortable night on a folding cot in Jo's room.

At the crack of dawn, Jo's alarm went off. That was okay; I was used to getting up even earlier than that. But then she told me what we were doing that day.

"Set up for the eleven am event by nine am, deal with the mother of the bride and the bridesmaids while they 'set up' for the eleven am event, serve hors d'oeuvres, brunch, alcohol, cake, and party favors, deal with the DJ they hired, keep drunk guests from destroying the barn, make the bride happy, and get everybody out by three so we can set up for the five pm event and do it all over again. Easy, right?" Jo's voice was so drastically more cheery than her words that I almost had whiplash.

"So, uh, what exactly is my role in all of this?"

Free labor.

* * *

Over the course of the next two hours, I put tablecloths on fifty tables- set up by the guys because I wasn't allowed to lift more than ten pounds apparently-, set up fifty two centerpieces because the mother of the bride was bringing a special tablecloth for the head table, put out who knows how many plates and forks and knives and spoons and salad plates and cups and wine glasses and napkins folded like swans and dessert plates, and swept the dance floor. Ellen and Jo were working on the food. Bobby was decorating the driveway and putting out signs for the venue. Sam and Dean had finished restocking the bar from crates upon crates of drink from the back room in record time, so Dean was now busy setting up chairs, repairing minor damage from previous events, discarding décor left behind from last week's festivities, and checking on Cas every once in a while. Sam was on a ladder hanging white fabric from the rafters; some kind of new fad for weddings, I guess. It was taking him forever, but every time Dean complained about it Sam asked him if he wanted to take his place and every time, Dean paled a bit and stormed off, mumbling something about 'better things to do'. I'm sure it had nothing to do with the thirty foot ladder.

* * *

By three, I was exhausted.

By five, I was ready to kill.

Sam finally told me to go back to the house and watch Cas so Dean wouldn't have to leave every hour to check on him. Dean was, in all honesty, doing much more at the events than I was. He'd already stopped two drunken groomsmen from smashing a champagne bottle on the hardwood floor, restocked the bar mid-rush singlehandedly, and settled a dispute between four or five party-goers who were none too happy at being seated at the same table.

I felt terrible when I realized that he and Sam were working their asses off to keep us under a safe, warded roof while I was glaring at tipsy bridesmaids and getting champagne spilled all over me by an older blond woman who had too much to drink but denied that fact several times before passing out.

So by five thirty, I was feeling guilty and bored out of my mind sitting on a folding chair in the room Cas was sharing with Sam. When, early that morning, I asked why they decided Sam should be in with Cas and not Dean, I was told that Bobby wasn't exactly thrilled that Sam 'knocked me up' at such a bad time. Dean didn't want Sam to get chewed out for something that wasn't his fault, and because Bobby had no qualms with Dean at the moment, he was the obvious choice. I noticed that Sam had the same kind of cot I did. My back hurt just thinking about it.

I hadn't seen Cas since the incident at the grocery store. The guys told me what happened and what I should expect so I wouldn't panic, but it was still quite a shock when I walked in and saw two massive wings still stained with blood and splayed haphazardly over half of the small room. I could barely even tell Cas was under them; apparently Bobby laid him on his belly when he brought Cas back, thinking that it would be more comfortable for his wings that way. All I knew was that the leg shaped lumps under the blanket were Cas' legs and the tuft of black hair barely visible from behind one of the wings was his, too.

"How's it goin', Cas?" I asked quietly, my words falling on deaf ears. A deep, miserable sigh left me before I could continue. "I'm sorry this happened to you. It's my fault. _All of this is my fault._ " I let my face fall into my hands. "Why am I such a pain in the ass?"

Light snoring was his only response.

"This is Ali, by the way. In case you didn't recognize me. I'm okay. So is the baby. Tristram… uh, he held me hostage for a few days so now he has Francesca. The guys traded her for me. But we're all okay, and we're at Ellen's house. The Demon Team don't know where we are so we're safe for a while. Bobby and Ellen and Jo think the baby is Sam's, no doubt, so, y'know, if you could play along with that, I'd appreciate it. I don't want everyone giving Dean and I their opinions on what we should do with the fact that he might be Dean's and not Sam's. That's need-to-know stuff."

More snoring.

"You comfy? Are you warm enough?" I leaned over and tried to see if he had a blanket covering him under his wings. I couldn't tell. "I bet those wings are great insulation. Are they like bird wings? Bird feathers? Will you… will you have to molt when you wake up because your feathers are so damaged? I mean, Bobby said he didn't know how to clean them so they're still all bloody. I think he was worried about hurting you more than helping you."

One particularly deep snore was followed by what I would normally consider a relaxed sigh.

That brought a small smile to my face. "I'm glad you're finally getting some rest. You've been so busy for so long – I was worried you were wearing yourself out. Maybe now you can slow down, take a break for a while before you try to jump back into it."

His left wing – the one closest to me – twitched. I jumped, but that was no big news. Bobby said he'd been twitching like that since he arrived at Ellen's.

However, Bobby did not mention that the wings could fold themselves. Granted, it was slow and jerky, but the mess of feathers that had been covering most of the small bedroom began pulling back toward Cas' body. After a few seconds, the wings settled on Cas' back, neatly folded and relaxed closely around him like a blanket. They covered him from shoulder to knee and I could only just see one of his hands and part of his arm from beneath the edges of the feathers.

I could finally see his face.

He was indeed sleeping. Or at least he looked to be. And he looked peaceful, at last.

"Hey Cas." I smiled, but he didn't wake up. For the rest of the evening, I didn't try to talk to him. I was worried that if I did, I would wake him up before he was ready and would be in pain. The last thing I wanted was for Cas to be in pain after all he had already gone through.

Evening came. Then night came. I went out sometime around seven to ask Ellen if I should start something for our dinner and she told me exactly what to make with a big, relieved smile on her face. She and Jo were frantically prepping the desserts, including piecing out a massive wedding cake, when I arrived. I checked in with Sam, who was bartending. He was tired, of course, but seemed to enjoy having an actual job. Dean was acting as added security; the law requires having at least one real security guard at one of these events, but that guy just stood around in case someone stole something or a big fight broke out. When I found him, Dean was crouched down next to a little boy, barely four, who was in tears.

"Lost his Mom." Dean said as I strolled up. "Doesn't know Mommy's name or where they were sitting."

"Hey buddy." I said with a smile. "Why don't we go talk to the new Mrs.? She'll probably know where your Mommy is."

Dean took the hint. The little guy gave me his hand and we followed Dean through the crowd – he was a great way-maker – to the head table.

The bride knew exactly who the boy was and shouted for his mom over the booming music the DJ was currently jamming to. Mother and son were reunited within a minute.

"Thanks for that. How's Cas?" Dean asked as we made our way back to the bar where Dean apparently chose to wait for trouble. Surprisingly, I couldn't pick up a whiff of alcohol on his breath.

"Still asleep. I'm gonna go start dinner. See you when you're done?"

"You got it."

Bobby was nowhere to be seen, apparently acting as a valet for the party's older guests.

Our little crew returned from kicking the last guest out of the barn at around eleven. I had dinner ready. We ate in near silence. Poor Sam smelled like an alcoholic because he had exactly four drinks spilled on him over the course of the evening. Ellen and Jo were at each other's throats, which was apparently very normal for them. Dean and Bobby were just Dean and Bobby.

The highlight of my day, well, second to seeing Cas for the first time in a long time, was Jo offering me her bed for the night. She proposed an every other night schedule until they could find me a real bed. I didn't blame her for not wanting to sleep on the cot every night. Gratefully, I accepted. I slept like a log.

* * *

 **A/N: Forgot to mention that I hardly did any editing on this chapter. Sorry! Leave me some words. See you soon...**


	7. Cockatoos and Lilacs

**A/N: Vivi here! Hope everyone is having a good week. Here's the next chapter.**

 **Just FYI, I don't write Destiel or Sastiel. Nothing against it, just not my style of writing.**

 **Also, I never realized how violent some of my writing is. I was talking with my friends (and fellow writers) and they pointed it out. I guess conflict is my style of writing. No guts, no glory, right?**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Previously on Enter the World:_

 _The highlight of my day, well, second to seeing Cas for the first time in a long time, was Jo offering me her bed for the night. She proposed an every other night schedule until they could find me a real bed. I didn't blame her for not wanting to sleep on the cot every night. Gratefully, I accepted. I slept like a log._

* * *

"Cas?"

The voice was so loud and full of shock that it woke me up before Jo's alarm the next morning.

I was in Cas and Sam's room right after Dean, my hair a mess and my polka dot robe still askew from sleep. "What's going on?" I asked quickly, pushing Dean out of the way to see what was happening.

Cas was awake. Kind of. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, far enough forward that his wound didn't have any pressure on it, but his head was propped up in his hands, face down. He wasn't moving aside from the minute expanding and collapsing of his ribcage as he breathed and nearly imperceptible shivering that made his whole image quiver ever so slightly. Those massive wings that yesterday had drawn themselves into such order on his back were now drooping to either side of him on the mattress, like they were too heavy, or too worn out, to hold up in a sitting position. As I suspected the day before, he was wearing flannel pajama pants, probably an old pair of Bobby's, no socks, no shirt, no extra blanket.

Sam sat on his cot, looking just as shocked as Dean and I felt from the doorway.

"Hey, man. How're you feelin'?" Dean asked, stepping closer and taking his time with each movement. I wouldn't want to scare the angel either. And I didn't miss the fact that he stood between Cas and I when he stopped. "You got a headache?"

Cas nodded but didn't look up.

"We, uh, we have some medicine, if you think it'll work for you." Dean didn't sound confident at all.

Cas nodded again, but this time he let his head drop so that his fingers ran along his forehead and into his filthy, blood-matted hair. After a few seconds of being frozen like that, he pulled his head back – it looked like a herculean effort – and looked at the floor.

He looked dead. His skin was pale, there were huge dark circles under his eyes, all of him looked skinnier than it should've, and his exhaustion left him struggling to support the weight of his body and wings, forcing him to lean on his knees, hunched over. Overall, he looked so much smaller than the blackened masses that framed him.

"Cas?" I went to stand next to Dean, closer to Cas, but still close enough to the door that I could get away if Cas turned out to be pissed about what happened because of me.

He looked at my face, somewhat confused, then down to my belly. Those normally beautifully blue eyes widened and lost some of their brilliance. "Allison?"

I smiled. I didn't even think about it before it happened. "Hi Cas."

He then moved to look up at Dean, who was equally as confused as Cas at this point. "D-Dean?"

"Somethin' wrong, Cas?" Sam asked, drawing Cas' attention.

"Sam." Cas was starting to sound a bit more confident, his posture beginning to relax from what must've been a difficult awakening.

"Yeah, it's us. How do you feel?" Dean asked, folding his arms and moving to stand just a little bit ahead of me _again._

"Sore."

"What's sore?"

Cas stared at Dean for a few seconds, like he was trying to collect his thoughts or maybe catalogue his pains. "Everything."

"I'll get some medicine." Sam offered, standing and leaving the room. I grinned when he walked like a drunk, still a bit uncoordinated from a full night's rest. _Like a sleepy puppy._

"More detail." Dean spoke again, drawing Cas' cloudy gaze once more.

"I, uh…" Cas scrubbed his hands over his face before very slowly lifting his head once more. "My leg. I think it is damaged. And my back, too. It is very difficult to think with this pain in my stomach." As if on cue, one of his hands leapt to his stomach and his eyes squeezed shut, his face contorted in pain.

"What's wrong with your stomach? It looked fine when we did a once over." Dean moved in closer and pushed Cas upright by the shoulder before tugging his hand away from his belly. There was nothing there but well-toned, very pale flesh.

"It- it feels like it is on fire, or that it is trying to collapse in on itself." Cas opened his eyes and seemed to sag again. "My mouth is dry, too. Makes it difficult to speak."

"Dean, he's hungry." I spoke as soon as I realized what was going on. Then Cas stomach growled and he looked like he had just seen one of us get killed; there was terror and panic in those pools of blue.

Dean had the exact opposite reaction to the sound. His shoulders relaxed and he let out a deep breath of relief. "We'll get you some food. Peanut butter sandwich?" I imagined Dean with the little boy from yesterday. He used the same voice with Cas as he had with the kid. It worked well in both instances to calm frayed nerves, apparently.

"This is hunger?" Cas asked, confused. He looked to me, then to my belly, then back to my face. His confusion only deepened, this time with a layer of frustration coating it. "Allison, you told me the child was 'okay'."

This time I was confused. Must be the emotion of the day or something. "He is, Cas. He's fine." I brought my hand to my stomach and traced out the soft curve.

"Then why can I not see him?" Cas snapped, wincing at the volume of his own words.

"Cas, I don't think you're at full power right now. You're hungry, and thirsty, and you look like you're exhausted." I moved closer to him and reached out. "And your wings are showing."

The moment my fingers brushed a bloody feather, Cas jumped in his seat and the wings pulled up tight against his back, shaking like they'd done something wrong.

Cas' eyes were huge as he looked from me to Dean. Swirls of fear and horror and embarrassment washed over them like waves on the ocean. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Slowly, he brought the edge of one wing forward and started to reach back for it. On contact, gasped and backed away from Dean's hand, which was still on his shoulder, scampering as far back onto the bed as his wings would allow. Only a few seconds later did he remember his leg wound and hiss in pain before stretching it out. The wings looked like they were trying to hide behind Cas, but there was no way that could happen. Not with those things as big as they were.

"Hey, buddy, it's okay. You're awake and breathing, that's all we care about, right, Li?" Dean said quickly, backing away just a step to give Cas some space.

"Of course." I said wholeheartedly. Then my brain made a few synapses and I connected some dots. "Wait, you can't see the baby. So you can't see our souls either? Is that why you didn't know who we were at first?"

Cas, still looking terrified, nodded.

My heart broke a little. "You don't have to be scared, Cas. You're still family, powers or not. Wings or not. We're still us and we care about you."

"She's right." Dean said shortly. "What's all this scaredy-cat stuff about?"

"It is not you." Cas said, swallowing hard against his undoubtedly dry throat.

"Then what is it?" Dean demanded impatiently. He was probably just as eager to get some food and liquids into the angel as I was. Cas had already lost some weight and he did _not_ need to lose weight in the first place.

"An- an angel's wings aren't supposed to be visible." Cas' voice was quiet.

Sam walked in with a glass of water and a bottle of meds. "What's going on?"

Dean took the things from Sam and set them on the nightstand where Cas could reach them easily once he returned from his cowering against the back wall on the bed. "Then why can we see 'em?" Dean asked, ignoring Sam's confusion.

"You know that when an angel dies, they leave behind scorched markings on the surface where they fall." Cas hadn't added any volume or confidence to this words.

"Yeah. What does that have to do with this?"

"It is a result of an extreme release of energy. Keeping wings out of sight takes an effort that to any… _healthy_ angel is minuscule. Yet it is enough to burn our memory into anything we touch while dying. As one of us draws closer to death and the end of our grace, our last reserves are redirected to preserving our lives. So… we lose the ability to see souls. We lose the effortless upkeep of our vessels. We lose much of our ability to fly. My wings… My wings are visible because I came so near to perishing that my body needed that tiny bit of energy to stay alive." Cas let out a shaky sigh. "I have never heard of an angel being preserved by their wing reserve. Most of the time it is only used up once it is too late and that burst is what leaves the mark."

"Cas…" I said quietly, not knowing what to do. If my heart had been broken before, it was shattered now. _I nearly killed him. He almost died… for me._

"But you're not gonna keel over anytime soon, right? I mean, you're stable now. You're talking and moving and those things move pretty well; you're okay for now. Right?" Dean asked, seeming almost as nervous as Cas but hiding it well. He always did have a fantastic poker face.

"My wings are stable. I am as well, I believe. My grace seems to have stopped just short of depleting itself, which is why I am in pain. I cannot heal myself." Cas hadn't moved from his position against the back wall, but he did seem less high-strung now.

"Your vessel can heal itself. It'll take time, but your physical pain will go away." I said softly, slowly walking forward to sit on the edge of Cas' bed. At least he didn't seem scared of us anymore.

"But my grace-"

"Let's focus on fixing you up first. Nothin' we can do about your angel juice right now."

Cas, looking more innocent and calm now than frightened, looked to Dean and nodded timidly before staring at the bed sheets in front of him. "How long was I unconscious?"

"Couple days." Sam finally spoke up.

"Tristram has Francesca?" Cas asked, looking from Sam, to Dean, to me.

I nodded. The guys seemed confused, but it had already been established that he remembered my monologue from last night.

"And we are safe here?"

"Yeah, Bobby set up warding. It's a couple miles wide, so no shifters or demons can get to us." Sam said it as if the fact that we were safe was like winning the lottery. He even smiled.

"Good."

"How about that sandwich?"

* * *

Jo stared at Cas' wings for most of breakfast. The rest of us just kind of accepted it and moved on. He ate enough for three full grown men, out-eating even Dean and Sam combined. By the time the meal was over, he seemed to be in much better spirits.

"Cas, honey, we're gonna have to do something about your clothing situation." Ellen said as she loaded up a shiny, new looking dishwasher. "Can't have you walking around half naked with so many guests millin' around."

I could have sworn the angel blushed. No shirts would fit him with those wings so he was still shirtless. We tried to find something that would work but no article of clothing could accommodate his new body.

"I'll see what I can do." Ellen said.

"I got it. You're already so busy." I said quickly, gathering up serving dishes and cutlery as people started dispersing to go prep for today's set up. Cas stood and tried to stretch his back, but all he got was the weight of his wings almost dragging him over backwards. With a frustrated growl, he limped towards the stairs and out of sight.

"You sure, Ali?"

"Yeah, it's the least I can do." I shrugged. "I'm not much help at the events, I guess."

"Takes gettin' used to. And honey, you were just _held hostage_ for a few days. We probably shouldn't have pushed you into the soup so quick." Ellen shut the machine and pushed a button to bring it to life.

"I'm fine."

"Y'know what? We only have one event today and it doesn't start until two anyhow. Why don't you and the boys take the morning off? Get Cas fixed up and ready for action, er whatever action he can manage. Just relax a little." Ellen came up to me and squeezed my shoulder affectionately before walking away, into the house.

"Okay. I guess." I was the only one left in the room. I'm sure the dishwasher appreciated the conversation, though. Feeling guilty about not helping out this morning, I trudged up the stairs to tell the guys.

I heard them talking in Sam and Cas' room, so being the eavesdropper I had recently become, I paused just out of sight.

"Stop being such a dick, Cas." That was definitely Dean.

"Yeah, dude, just let us help you. You help us all the time." And there was Sam.

"I don't think you understand the significance of what you are proposing." Cas sounded upset, which really wasn't a surprise.

"I think I do, Cas. There's no way we're just leaving you to fend for yourself."

"And you're far from useless. You're just… kinda like a human with wings now. No big deal."

"No big deal? How am I supposed to keep up with you? I've never had to live with corporeal wings before. And if you think the other humans are going to just accept that I, an otherwise 'normal' man, have _wings_ , then you do not understand human nature in the slightest."

Dean sighed. "Look. Your body will heal. If anything, we'll have trouble keeping up with _you_. And have you seen some people nowadays? A guy walking around with wings isn't going to make most people bat an eye. They sell friggin' devil's horns and pretend animal parts at the mall, Cas. I even saw a guy with a rubber elephant trunk on his face once. If I hadn't seen the string, I would've followed the weirdo home."

"Hunters might react, but if they see you with us – with humans -, you'll be fine. And if they don't, just pretend you're a college student in some D&D club. Say they're fake." Sam had a point.

"What is 'D&D'?"

"Dungeons and Dragons. It's a role playing game."

"I see."

"Don't worry about other people, Cas. You're much safer with the humans than you are by yourself being hunted down by some demon. We've lived our whole lives like this."

"Sam's right. We'll show you the ropes."

"There are ropes?"

I grinned and decided that was a good time to intrude. "Hi, guys." I went to sit on the bed next to Cas, since the cot was currently occupied by the brothers. Cas still didn't have a shirt on. "Ellen said we can have the morning off. The event doesn't start until two, so we have a couple hours to ourselves."

Sam grinned until Dean elbowed him hard in the ribs. "Not while I'm around." He growled. Sam just rolled his eyes and swatted at his brother.

"Ali, can you convince Cas to let us change the bandages? He's throwing a fit about it."

"I am not." Cas pouted, the dark circles under his eyes making him look even sadder.

"Why don't we get you cleaned up first?" I offered an alternative, hoping that the thought of getting the caked blood off of him would brighten his spirits.

I watched as Cas shuffled his wings uncomfortably and frowned. "That would be… nice. It's uncomfortable having them this heavy and the… the blood makes them itch."

"It's a plan, then." Dean stood. "So how do we do this?"

"I, um, I don't know how to clean them." Cas' voice was as timid and unsure as first grader answering a math problem.

* * *

Forty minutes later, after browsing through around twenty three websites on bird maintenance, we decided to put him in the tub once the shower was warm. We hoped it would wash most of the gunk off and let the feathers breathe. Dean and I started on that project while Sam continued researching more ways to deep clean a bird.

It kinda worked. A lot of the big clots of blood came off, but most of the feathers were still coated in the stuff. Cas looked miserable with his head on his now pajama-ed knees, just sitting there with his wings still itching and heavier than ever. His hair and clothes were already soaked; that was good for his hair, it got a lot of blood and oil out of it, but there was no salvaging the pajama pants. Not even I could get all those stains out.

"Hey Sam, you got anything else for us?" Dean leaned out the bathroom door and called down the hall to Sam and Cas' bedroom, which was our impromptu research headquarters. The rest of the house was deserted; Bobby, Ellen, and Jo were out at the barn already.

"Uh… This says you can use mild dish soap to get oil off. I'd try shampoo, or body wash, maybe." Sam yelled back. "He can tell you if anything hurts him, unlike an actual cockatoo."

"Got it." Dean returned. "New plan. We need suds."

"Body wash?" I looked up at Dean from my seat on the floor next to the tub, where I was facing Cas' front so he wouldn't feel as ogled or alone. He didn't even move when we suggested soap. He just let his wings twitch, groaning every so often at the myriad of discomforts he was experience.

"Yeah, I guess. That's mild soap, right?"

I nodded, then turned to Cas. "Hey, is it okay if we touch your wings?"

No response.

I reached out and touched his arm, which got him to lazily lift his head and look at me. He looked about one hundred fifty percent done with this whole ordeal. "Can we touch your wings to wash the blood off? We're gonna try soap."

He frowned and hesitated, but then his right wing gave an almighty twitch, nearly flinging water across the room. "Just do it."

I ran back to my room – well, Jo's room – and got my big bottle of soap. It was even the kind for sensitive skin. I'd been using the same brand ever since I burned myself with bleach and this kind of soap didn't hurt when I used it.

We shut the water off and each took the back of a wing, sharing the bottle between us. Cas let his head fall again. He jumped every now and then and turned to glare at whoever the offender was who twisted or tugged at a feather or scrubbed too hard. Most of the time, however, he was practically purring.

"Still doin' okay, Cas?" Dean asked, trying to work the dark stains of blood off of a particularly large feather. The normally white bubbles came back pink wherever we worked. I took that as a good sign.

"Mmm-hmm." Cas sounded like he was almost asleep.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Dean grinned and moved to the next feather.

Cas just nodded. I almost laughed.

We finished the tops of his wings and had to reposition to get at the other sides, since they were just as bad if not worse. Sam chose that moment to pop his head in, laptop in hand. "Hey, are you just starting the undersides?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Be careful; those feathers are really fragile. You could really mess him up if you pull enough of them out. This website says 'use extra caution' around there." Sam said, holding his laptop in one arm. He watched me start to work up some bubbles in my hands before spreading them on the matted down feathers in front of me.

Very gently, I dug my fingers in, dislodging and very carefully lifting the superficial-most feathers so I could get the soap underneath them to where it needed to be.

"Got it. We'll be careful." I said as I worked at a single feather. Going one at a time had proven to be the easiest way to do this. At least for me. "Thanks."

Sam left.

The undersides took us even longer to get clean. We had to go from the very tips of his flight feathers all the way back to where tiny, downy feathers sprouted off of the base of his wing, where it somehow attached to his shoulder blades. I was pretty sure Cas was asleep when I finished and washed my hands off in the sink.

"Gah!" Cas shouted just as I saw his left wing, the one Dean was still working on, knock into the ceiling. At the same time, I heard a loud thump coming from something with a bit more weight than the wing.

"Dean? Y'okay?" I called, rushing back to the tub where Dean was now haphazardly splayed out, wide-eyed and soaked on top of the tub's drain, opposite Cas. Cas himself was turned away from me to face him with an equally wide-eyed expression. Both of the wings were tucked tight against his back once more, but the feathers were even more disarrayed now than they had been earlier.

"What did you do?" Cas demanded, sounding more angry than fearful.

"I- I don't know. I was tryin' to get this stubborn clot off the bottom of your wing and you just flipped shit." Dean said, his hands up in the 'I surrender' position.

"It felt like- like you…" Cas paused, trying to find the words. "Like you stabbed me with a needle."

Dean donned the face I had termed the 'adorably confused and slightly offended' face. He had one. Sam had one. Cas had one. All were hilarious and all were elicited by myself at one point or another. "Why would I stab you? Not to mention that I don't even _have_ a needle."

"Then what happened?"

Dean sat up and stood, rubbing at the spot on his back where the tub made contact. "Turn around."

Cas hesitantly did as he was told.

"And loosen up, man. I'm gonna look and see if anything got stuck in your feathers and blood-glued itself in." There was a pause. "Seriously, dude. Relax. Let the wings drop. I can't look if they're clenched to your back."

The wings relaxed, but it took a good ten seconds for the action to be complete.

Dean returned to where he had been working. After only a few seconds of searching, he pulled out one pink, sticky feather. "Think I plucked this by accident. Your, uh, your wing is bleeding a little now. Sorry."

"Do you think you got most of the dried blood off?" I asked quickly. "I don't want that to get infected."

"Yeah, yeah, I think so. Maybe a couple spots need some more time, but most of it's gone."

"Wash the suds off before he stops bleeding. The fresh blood will wash the wound out and we can patch it up once all that pink gunk is gone."

"Say no more." Dean stepped out of the tub and turned the tub faucet on. We waited until the water was warm again to divert the flow to the showerhead.

Once I aimed the spray at his wings and saw that the water was doing its job, I told him to wash his hair.

"Can it wait?" Cas asked, somewhat tiredly.

"Uh, no. Your hair is bloody and it kinda smells. It's been brewing for days now." I said, crossing my arms as I stood next to the tub. Dean was busy washing pink suds and clots from his arms in the sink, so I was left with Cas-sitting duty.

The angel seemed to deflate, hunching over even more and letting his head fall back to his knees.

"What's wrong now?" I crouched down to be at eye level with him.

"I hate this."

"You hate what?" Dean returned from the sink, bringing along a faded green towel to dry himself off with.

"Being weak."

Dean huffed a laugh. "Welcome to the club, fly-boy."

"Let me guess. Too tired to wash your hair?" I asked, resisting the urge to roll my eyes when he nodded. He really did look exhausted; his wings had begun to shake from being held up so long, and the rest of him didn't look much better. "I hope you like the smell of lilacs."

"Why?"

I grinned and squirted some of my shampoo out into my hand before plopping it unceremoniously on his head. He only flinched a little. "Because your wings _and_ hair will smell like pretty little flowers for the next few days."

With his hair now a shiny black once more, I turned the water off and tossed a towel over his head just as Dean was dropping off some clothes. We left the room. I figured he'd want some privacy to change into the clothes Dean left for him.

Sam met us in the hallway, a shit-eating grin on his face and his laptop still in his arm. "Hey, Dean."

"Yeah?"

"Did you know that some birds preen each other as part of a mating ritual?"

Dean punched Sam's shoulder on the way by, ducking quickly into Bobby's room and slamming the door. He missed the pained grimace and the words 'worth it' that came from Sam in the moments after.

Of course Dean left his own clothes for Cas.

* * *

 **A/N: Just because I don't write something doesn't mean I can't tease about it. Oh, Sam.**

 **Anyway, hope you liked it. Let me know. AND I want to hear what color you think Cas' wings will turn out to be under all that bloody soap. There are so many interpretations; I want to hear yours!**


	8. Hunter Pack Day

**A/N: Vivi here! Been a while, huh? Well, I recently got the writing bug back so I decided to give ETW another go! Here's a little something just for you…**

 **Same warnings apply. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Previously on Enter the World:_

 _With his hair now a shiny black once more, I turned the water off and tossed a towel over his head just as Dean was dropping off some clothes. We left the room. I figured he'd want some privacy to change into the clothes Dean left for him._

 _Sam met us in the hallway, a shit-eating grin on his face and his laptop still in his arm. "Hey, Dean."_

 _"Yeah?"_

 _"Did you know that some birds preen each other as part of a mating ritual?"_

 _Dean punched Sam's shoulder on the way by, ducking quickly into Bobby's room and slamming the door. He missed the pained grimace and the words 'worth it' that came from Sam in the moments after._

 _Of course Dean left his own clothes for Cas._

* * *

Cas slept for a long time after we scrubbed the blood away; he retreated to the room he and Sam shared before anyone even realized he'd left the bathroom. We figured he would want some alone time after the day he already had.

In the meantime, Ellen and Bobby had rounded the rest of us up, claiming our break was over. We spent _hours_ getting ready for this big, elaborate wedding that was supposed to happen that afternoon.

Which left me none too happy when, just half an hour before the guests were supposed to arrive, Ellen pulled me aside.

"What do you mean I have to wear a dress?" I whined, trying to reign in the pout knowing that Ellen wasn't the kind of woman to give in to something like that.

"The bride was very clear that everything about her 'special day' needs to be 'top-shelf'. That means dresses, tuxes, manners, snobby attitudes, and egos the size of the black hills." Ellen crossed her arms and looked sympathetic. "I know it's a pain but we all gotta work together on this one. They're payin' big bucks and I don't like refunds, y'understand?"

"Yeah, yeah. But I don't have a nice dress."

"Jo has some."

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm a couple sizes bigger than Jo and thirteen weeks pregnant."

Ellen rolled her eyes. "You're hardly even showing, sweetheart. Go look through her closet and find something to wear. And get back here before the show starts; we're gonna need all hands on deck."

I hesitated in turning away. "Does that mean Cas, too, er…?"

"No. Are you kiddin' me? You know what normal folks would think if they saw him in all his winged glory out in the open. Now get a move on and _do not_ tell Cas to come help. He needs to stay in tonight."

"Got it."

* * *

Turns out I wasn't the only one to be displeased by the strict dress code.

I'd never seen Sam in a tux. A fed suit, yeah, but never a tux. I'd also never drooled over a man before but I guess today was a day of firsts for me.

Dean was tugging at his own tux's collar when I walked into the back room of the barn to help prep for the ceremony and reception. When he looked up and noticed me, he grinned and wolf-whistled at me loudly. That got Sam's attention. He left his place unboxing bottles of colorful liquids and came to me, smiling. "I like purple on you." He said, motioning to the dress I borrowed from Jo's closet.

"Thanks."

"If you get cutesy, I'm leaving."

Sam rolled his eyes and turned to glare at Dean. "It's a wedding, dude."

"Yeah, but not yours."

"Whatever."

"Boys, hurry up with the bar. Ali, we're just finishing plating the desserts. Come on." Ellen grabbed my arm and off we went.

* * *

The ceremony was beautiful but I felt bad for the groom. He was red in the face and sweating, looking more nervous than I'd felt in a long time. The bride's dress was extravagant and sparkling and coated in rhinestones; it must've weighed a ton. She looked fierce. Not stylish fierce, but brutal fierce. I was pretty sure the groom's hands shook when he put the ring on her finger.

Once the ceremony was over, the 'happy' couple went outside to take pictures and we started serving drinks. Everything went swimmingly until the crowd of snobby looking relatives and friends had alcohol in them.

I was tasked with refilling the water glasses, which were going mostly unused in favor of something a bit pricier. The jug I carried from table to table was cold and droplets started to form on the outside, dripping now and then onto the floor. My hand was almost numb by the time I made it to the head table.

One drop landed on a tipsy groomsman's pant leg when I refilled his water cup.

He was not pleased.

The man grabbed my arm, making me lose my grip on the slippery container. It dropped between us, hitting the ground and splashing my legs with icy cold liquid. I gasped and tried to pull away, panic spiking in my chest.

"What the hell did you do?" The man growled, shaking my arm and squeezing so tight it hurt.

I did the only thing that came to my panic-frozen mind. "Sam!" The scream bounced off the decorative beams high in the barn's ceiling, giving it a near-echo. The roar of the crowd hushed for barely a split second before resuming their conversations.

"You better clean that up now, bitch. Is this the kind of service you provide here?" I could smell the alcohol on his breath and tried to pull away again.

 _Not good not good not good-_

Before I could reply, a big hand engulfed the man's wrist, another hand moving to pry his fingers off of my arm. As soon as I was freed, I jerked my reddened digits to my chest and backed up several feet. _Sam._ I realized. _He moves quick. Wow._

"What's the problem here?" Sam asked, a professional mask of calm on his face. He glanced back at me, then to the floor. "Did your- that's not your water breaking, is it?" He whispered. I shook my head to let him know I was okay. He turned back to the man and moved to stand so that I couldn't see the guy and he couldn't see me.

I responded in a very sincere, very typical female protagonist fashion. _My hero._ Complete with butterflies in my stomach, a sigh, and a pounding heart.

"She dumped water in my lap." The groomsman slurred, motioning to me around Sam.

"From what I saw, you assaulted her and there's no water on your pants."

"What the hell do you know, waiter boy?"

"Don't touch her, or any of our staff, again. Especially not _my pregnant girlfriend._ You _will_ be asked to leave."

The man didn't reply. He just stood, sent a clumsy punch at Sam, and threw himself off balance. Sam, ever the forward thinker, stepped back and gently pushed me a few more feet away so that we were well out of the man's range.

The guy landed in the puddle of ice water, swearing like a sailor as the bridal party looked on.

"I got that all on video." I looked to my right and saw a bridesmaid with her camera phone out, a glass of champagne in her other hand, dangerously close to spilling as she stumbled around the table. "I'm gonna call the cops on you."

"What's going on?"

* * *

Ellen cleared everything up after 'asking' Sam and I to go work in the back and send Bobby and Jo out in our places. I didn't mind. It was all too overwhelming, being in such a large, loud, drunk crowd. I could handle situations like those normally- they weren't all that bad- but I'd never been pregnant and worried about protecting a tiny life while navigating those waters before. As it turned out, Sam and I were perfectly content to just prep food, do dishes, restock the bar, and talk quietly amongst ourselves for the rest of the night.

* * *

It was three in the morning when a man named Caleb showed up. The last of the cars in the parking lot had departed, most of the vomit was cleaned from the barn floor, and the bar had been hastily restocked for some reason.

Two minutes after Caleb arrived, some guy named Roger arrived. Bobby greeted both warmly, followed by Ellen, then Dean, then Sam, who pulled away from me with a surprised smile on his face. Apparently they knew each other.

And I was exhausted.

No one told us that tonight was _the_ Hunter Pack Night.

By four in the morning, over a hundred men, women, and children, all hunters of some sort or family of hunters, were crowded into the barn, talking merrily, sparring in rings of people, or drinking at the cash bar Ellen was manning with renewed vigor.

I was helping bartend, as was Sam. Dean wandered off early on in the night. A few hunters noted my growing belly and the alcohol in my hands, but I assured them I would not partake for any amount of money. Nothing in the world could make me hurt my baby like that.

And apparently, nothing in the world could keep Sam from proudly explaining that the baby in my belly was his. He got a few pats on the back, many handshakes, and some enthused yet slightly disappointed hugs from a few less than sober women.

"Quite the catch." Ellen said as she poured a drink next to me. I could barely hear her over the dull roar of the crowd.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You've got _the_ Sam Winchester, honey. Bit of a legend around these parts."

"Is he really?" I asked tiredly, handing a beer to one bearded man.

"Oh sure. You haven't been hearing all the conversations pop up about those boys through the night?"

"No, I'm, uh… kinda nauseous. Not really paying attention to much else."

"Baby got you feelin' that way?"

"Yeah."

"You know Sam's excited about all this, right?"

I shrugged. "I'm not so sure. He told me-" I was interrupted by a newcomer enthusiastically requesting a beer at the end of the bar. I continued when I returned to the center, where most of our patrons were crowding. "Before he found out, we talked about kids a little. Now's not a good time, and the life is rough on kids and… people like me."

"Doesn't mean he can't be happy to have both of you around."

"I know he likes me-"

"Loves you, dear. Just listen to him talk about you over there."

I glanced past Ellen further down the bar to see Sam grinning and talking with an overweight, older looking man who kept looking at me and smiling. The barn was too loud to hear a word they were saying, but Sam looked to me and winked before turning back to the man. Shrugging with a slight blush on my face, I returned to cleaning out a glass with a washcloth. "Yeah. And I feel the same way, but I can't help but wonder if this happening kinda forced his hand. What if he feels like he has to love me instead of actually just letting it happen?"

"Those boys won't be forced into anything, honey. They're too smart for that."

"What if he just loves me for the kid?" I sighed, filling the glass with ice and whiskey for a gentleman who had been waiting patiently for about thirty seconds now.

"Ali, where are these thoughts coming from? I may not a' known you long, but this doesn't seem like you."

I handed the man his drink and got a few more orders before running my fingers through my hair and taking a deep breath. "All this shit is my fault, Ellen. They're in danger because of me. We're all in danger because of me. If I just left, you would all be fine."

"Don't go talkin' like that. You're family, hun; they wouldn't let you leave even if you wanted to. Not with that little Winchester on the way."

"Don't remind me." I groaned, holding back a gag as my stomach rolled. "How long does this thing go?"

Ellen laughed, which made me nervous. "Until everyone leaves. Barn's not booked out for another three days."

My eyes widened in shock and I almost dropped the beer I was handing to a tall woman with blonde hair. "Three days?"

"Crowd usually thins out after the booze is gone."

"Three fucking days of this?" I asked again, letting the beer go when the woman reached forward and took it out of my hand.

Ellen smiled and nodded. "You don't have to help the whole time, Ali. Why don't you and Sam take a break? Go work the room, spread the news."

"About Francesca and Tristram?" Confusion swept over me. I mean, sure, having more help hunting them down would be nice, but it seemed kind of like a personal thing at this point. They were only after me. Why drag anyone else down with us?

"No, honey, the baby. Hunter women love hearing about hunter babies, as long as they're being taken care of properly. Now go on." Ellen nudged my shoulder towards Sam and took over taking and filling orders before I'd even agreed to leave the bar.

"Fine." I grumbled, going to Sam and touching his arm lightly to get his attention. He paused in talking with a young man across the bar and looked down at me.

"Everything okay?" Concern was instantly thick in his voice, seeing how tired and worn I looked.

"Yeah… yeah. Ellen says we should take a break. 'Go work the room'." I air-quoted her words, frowning at having to spend more time in this loud, smelly room with my feet and belly as sore as they were.

"Sounds good. Hey, man, good to see you again."

The man replied and turned to leave. Sam leaned down and kissed my forehead, earning a dull roar of 'aww' and gagging sounds with some wolf whistles in there, too. I blushed and couldn't hide my grin as he took my hand and lead me out from behind the bar.

The next half hour was a blur. I shook so many hands, got so many hugs, heard and forgot so many names that I felt like I was drowning in it. We didn't spend particularly long with any one person, maybe a two minute conversation at the most. Just enough time for Sam to introduce me and catch up with the person. Surprisingly, he usually didn't bring up that I was pregnant. He left that to whoever we were talking with.

He did, however, bring up what a talented hunter I was. That prompted quite a few conversations on techniques and tips and tricks of the trade. I learned a lot from a lot of different people. Like you can fill a tranquilizer dart with dead man's blood to incapacitate a vampire. Or that djinn dreams weren't always dreams; sometimes they were terrible nightmares. It just depends on what flavor the creature likes better.

The only time Sam brought up that I was pregnant was when a kindly red-headed woman who was as tall as me and about my size asked if she and I could spar so she could see how well the Winchesters taught me. I hesitated just long enough for Sam to put his hand out in front of me.

"She can't." Sam said loudly, battling the crowd to be heard.

"Why not?" Amy, the red-head, asked us.

"It's not that I don't want to, it's just that I'm pregnant." I shrugged.

"She's pregnant." Sam said sympathetically at the same time I said it.

"Pregnant, huh? You know who the father is?" Amy asked curiously, not seeming to mean any harm with her question. "Or is it a highway baby?"

Sam raised his hand with a wide grin. "He's mine."

Amy smiled as her eyes widened in shock. "No way! There's gonna be another generation of Winchesters?"

"Yeah." I said, running my hands over my belly as Sam snaked his arm around my shoulders. "In about five months."

"Congratulations, guys! Wow, so are you quitting the life, then?" She asked, crossing her arms as she looked at Sam and I.

"Well…" I looked to Sam, unsure of the answer.

He looked back at me and frowned. "We haven't actually talked about it yet."

"Oh, okay. Well you have some time, right? You're not hunting now, are you?" Amy asked, suddenly somewhat concerned.

"I'm not doing anything besides ground support." I said quickly, putting her concerns to rest.

"Dean and I are still working cases, but we, uh, we have a little bit of a demon problem right now, so that needs resolved before we can make any big plans." Sam pulled me closer, seemingly without realizing it.

"Oh, is that the whole possession thing I've been hearing about?" Amy asked, her eyebrows coming together.

"You heard about it?" I asked, confused.

"Yeah, yeah. Tristram and Francesca and their gang wanting you for some spell or something? I thought it was just a rumor that was going around. So that's true?"

"Yeah. We've been trying to track them down, but no luck yet." Sam said with a frown.

"Well, I'll spread the word and make sure if anyone hears anything, they phone you guys. You must be wreck gettin' chased like that while you're pregnant." Amy clicked her tongue a few times. "At least you have a good team on your side."

"Yeah, I do. The best, actually." I forced a smile and leaned into Sam.

"If you say so. Well, I'll see you around." Amy waved at us and smiled, walking away before we replied.

"Hey, we're gonna figure this out, okay?" Sam said, pulling me in close for a hug. He kissed the top of my head as I laid it on his chest. "Everything will be just fine."

"I hope so."

Unsurprisingly, by the end of the night it felt like everyone in the world knew I was having Sam's baby. Word spreads fast during Hunter Pack Night. Sam and I had to keep swatting drunk hands away from my belly every few minutes. I could only hope that word of our predicament was also spreading and getting us some quality allies in the process.

Inevitably, we found Dean doing shots with a small group near the entrance to the building, where the wedding card table usually sat.

"Heya, Sammy! Hey, Princess!" He exclaimed, grinning like a fool.

Sam laughed at the sight before him. Four tipsy hunters, four empty bottles of whiskey and two half empty bottles of tequila sat on the table they crowded around. Someone had spilled something on the table; it was going to be a sticky mess tomorrow, like half the building. "Hey, Dean."

"Everybody, this's Li. She's the best." Dean took another shot and shook his head quickly to clear the burn while he huffed and slammed the shot glass down on the table.

"The best, huh? At what? Gettin' knocked up?" A man with a red beard grinned at his own joke, motioning to his belly as if it were huge and making a dumb face. "Oh, hey, big guy. Put a baby in me. I'll let you fuck me hard and fast just like you want so you'll protect my sweet ass from the big bad demon. Am I right?" He exaggerated a wink and laughed, looking around at his companions.

No one at the table laughed with him. They were looking at Dean, who'd lost his merriment and was now staring the man down in a way I'd only seen a few times. Usually the objects of those stares died shortly after.

Sam's arm moved from around my shoulders to around my waist and tightened, like he might want to move me back a few feet and needed better leverage. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment and shame and I lowered my gaze to the dirty, sticky floor, letting the roar of the room drown out the hateful thoughts that filled my head.

 _Is that really how I'm gonna be seen now? Like I'm… like I'm a fuck toy for Sam? Like I'm taking advantage of him- of them? Is he right?_ I glanced up at Sam, who didn't notice my action. My hands ghosted over my belly, regret filling me. _Should never have told them. Should've tried harder to run._

Dean stood and leaned over the table, closer to the man. "Say one more thing like that about her, I'll rip your fucking lungs out." His growl was low enough that no one besides those at the table could hear, but he emphasized every word.

The man quickly stopped laughing and his smile faded. "Whoa, man, easy. I was just havin' fun."

"You don't have fun with her, you understand me? Poke fun all you want at me or Sam, but _never_ her. She didn't do _shit_ to deserve that."

"Geez, alright. Cool it."

"Apologize."

"Look, dude, I was just-"

"Did I fucking stutter?" Dean roared, causing a brief quiet to come over the whole crowd. Hundreds of eyes turned our way, curious, before returning to their own business and starting up the low rumble once more.

"Sorry, Li."

"It's Ali." I said quietly but insistently.

"Ali?" He looked between me and Dean a few times.

"You heard her." Dean growled.

"He's the only one who gets to call me Li." I nodded to Dean, who sat back down and looked smugly at the guy.

"Whatever. Sorry, Ali."

No conversation started up at the table after that.

"Maybe we should get back to the bar." Sam said quietly, bending to speak into my ear.

"Why were you at the bar?" Dean asked, getting up and leaving the table to join us a few feet away. I wondered how he heard that from so far in such a loud room.

"Bartending. Ellen needed help." Sam said before glancing over his shoulder at the large mob surrounding what I knew to be the bar area. "Looks like she still needs it."

"You weren't drinking, right?" Dean looked pointedly at me, serious as could be.

I was offended. "No, Dean. Alcohol and babies don't mix. You know that." I said, wondering why he asked such a dumb question.

"And you?" Dean then looked to Sam, the same serious look on his face.

"I, uh, had a shot or two. Why?" Sam's face contorted in confusion, his grip on my hip adjusting slightly so he could rub his thumb over the bare skin under my shirt.

"Don't want you getting shit-faced and her ending up in the hospital. I don't want either of them getting hurting." Dean said, looking Sam up and down, appraising his truthfulness before turning to me and doing the same.

"I wouldn't hurt her even if I drank. Dean, what's this about? Are you drunk?"

"Not you, Sam. I know you won't hurt 'em. It's everyone else I'm worried about. And I have a three beer limit, remember? That's the same liquor in like four shots. And I've only had three." Dean crossed his arms, his gaze scanning the room. I wondered what he could see, since he and Sam were so much taller than I was. "I just, uh… I don't want what we got to get messed up again. Listen, don't stay too much later, okay? Both of you. These things get rough after a few hours and I don't want anything to happen to Junior."

"He'll be fine, Dean. Really." I said as convincingly as possible. "I'm a big girl. I can handle it."

"Not against a two hundred pound drunk guy who's only looking for one thing. Ellen told me the house is open to anyone who needs a place to sleep, so Sam? Don't leave her alone tonight. And if you have to, come find me. Everybody here can pick locks, remember?"

I looked around. Dean was right. A lot of these people were bigger than me and probably stronger, too. And with the amount of alcohol I'd dispensed alone, everyone in the room could be buzzed. Just mix a few too many hormones into that and bang. Recipe for rape. I leaned into Sam a bit more, my hand finding its way to his back. "Maybe Dean has a point…"

"She's safe with me." Sam said pulling me a little closer. I wound my arm around his back and leaned in, feeling cared for by both men. "I won't lose her again."

"Good." Dean nodded and walked past us, probably to find someone else to sit with for the next few hours or until he was needed.

"Sam, I don't feel so good." I said suddenly, placing a hand flat on my stomach as another bout of nausea nearly overtook me.

In the blink of an eye he was before me, bent down to look me over. "What doesn't feel good? The baby?"

I shook my head and frowned. "I'm just nauseous and tired and my feet hurt and I wanna go home." Tears filled my eyes as the rush of emotions took me by surprise. "I wanna go home to the bunker."

Sam sighed and pulled me into strong hug before leading me out into the cool of the night. It was quieter out here, even though there were a few people chatting in groups near the haphazardly parked cars or on the lawn. "You know we can't go home right now." We stopped at the edge of the glow provided by a big floodlight on the outside of the barn. The roar from inside could still be heard, but it was dampened quite a bit.

"I know, I just…"

"The road isn't easy on you. I can tell. That's why we're here and not driving all the time."

"Yeah, but this doesn't feel like home."

He pulled me close and I rested my head on his chest, listening to the slow, steady thump of his heartbeat. "You're tired. It's late. Why don't we go to bed?"

I glanced nervously at the house, watching the shadows pass by windows. "There are already people in there. What if they…?" _What if they want to hurt me?_

"Dean put ideas in your head, didn't he?" Sam kissed my hair and sighed. "It's a nice night. Why don't we sleep in the Impala? Lock the doors and all that."

I liked the sound of that. Far from people who could get handsy or say nasty things and close to the one I loved most. "Okay."

Sam took me by the hand and led me to the spot behind the house where we'd parked the Impala for the big event. He tugged the blanket out of the trunk and we snuggled down, the two of us barely managing to spoon in the backseat, me using his arm as a pillow. It was the best night's sleep I'd gotten since we arrived.

* * *

 **A/N: Man, I had the worst writer's block for the past few months. Feeling better now, though. Let me know what you think of the story! I thrive on reviews... See you soon!**


	9. It's Been Weeks

**A/N: Vivi here! Hope you're ready for some awkward conversations about bodily functions and needs!**

 **Same warnings apply. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Previously on Enter the World:_

 _Sam took me by the hand and led me to the spot behind the house where we'd parked the Impala for the big event. He tugged the blanket out of the trunk and we snuggled down, the two of us barely managing to spoon in the backseat, me using his arm as a pillow. It was the best night's sleep I'd gotten since we arrived._

* * *

It wasn't until the next day that we saw a snapshot from the bridesmaid's video. Sam and I had gotten up early to fix breakfast for our little family. We figured Bobby, Ellen, Jo, and Cas wouldn't be up to making their own food that morning. So, we were stepping over sleeping bodies and mysterious puddles in the house to get to the kitchen. There were only four people asleep in there. Three on the floor and one at the table with empty beer bottles around him. Someone had turned the TV on during the night and, once breakfast was well on its way, I walked in to see one man awake and watching it with drooping eyes as six or seven other men and women snoozed on the floor in various positions. The news was on.

Apparently the bride from last night was some CEO's daughter and her wedding merited a few seconds coverage on the local station. Only, it wasn't just her face. Sam, the drunk guy I spilled water on, and I made the news, too.

Sam and I rushed out to the barn, breakfast forgotten, to where a few people were still partying. We had to find Dean and Bobby and Ellen. I was panicking something fierce.

Dean wasn't okay with what we told him about the news.

Bobby was _less_ okay with it.

"Can't stay here no more."

"Dammit." Ellen paced back and forth in her kitchen after having woken and shooed the hungover sleepers. She was making me feel tremendously guilty as Dean, Sam, and I leaned against her beautiful cupboards, eyes downcast like scolded children.

"I never meant to make a scene, Ellen. I'm so sorry." I said softly, unable to look her in the eye. I'd been silently bawling my eyes out since almost right after the news story came on, so I knew the puffy, hot feeling in my face wasn't just my imagination. _I don't wanna go. Never meant for this to happen. Why now? Why us?_

"I know, hun, but now the world knows where you are and that spells trouble." Ellen stopped pacing and crossed her arms.

"Both worlds." Dean said with a sigh. "Tristram will be showin' up any time now and with our luck, the feds will have ID-ed you and Sam. They'll be on the way, too. And soon, if they haven't already dispatched."

"Whatcha gonna do?" Bobby asked from his place at the kitchen table with Jo.

"Got no choice. We have to move. Sell the barn and the house and find a new place." Ellen was visibly upset, her face flushed, body language screaming anxiety and frustration, a hint of healthy fear in her eyes. "Start over all over again. New town, new identities."

"Better than losing someone." Jo grumbled soberly as she fiddled with a small knife, giving it most of her attention.

"Damn straight." Dean said quietly. "We'll relocate, too. Somewhere far away from you guys. We'll leave you alone from now on. Scouts honor."

Ellen rolled her eyes. "Don't be dramatic, Dean. It's not like we're starting from scratch. I don't hold grudges with friends."

"We're still friends?" Sam asked hesitantly, the signature puppy dog eyes making an appearance.

"A' course, Sam. You've gotta do somethin' really bad to get on this ol' girl's bad side."

"I hate to break up this heartfelt talk, but need to get moving. It's been an hour since that clip first aired and we don't have that kind of time with our clientele." Bobby said, standing and adjusting his hat.

"I'll go wake Cas up." Sam said, pushing away from the cabinets and heading for the stairs. The angel, still early in his recovery, hadn't yet woken for the morning, unlike the rest of us.

"Alright, everybody. Pack your bags. Outside in ten."

"What about all the hunters?" I asked nervously. "They're literally everywhere."

"Jo, get to it." Ellen barked. "I'll get the barn, you get the house."

Jo stood and put her hands on either side of her mouth to shout. "Rise n' shine!"

* * *

"Where are we going now?" I asked from the backseat of the Impala as we pulled out of Ellen's driveway. Unwilling to look back at the now mostly empty house – stripped of valuables and memories with a now empty parking lot – I slumped into my seat, allowing my hands to fall over my belly as the trees flew by outside. _On the road again… I can't wait to be on the road again… Not. What the hell have I gotten us into? This is all my fault. I ruined our stability and now-_

"Away." Dean said, not bothering to look at me in the mirror. "Might as well settle in. We'll be on the road for a couple hours, at least."

"Where's Bobby going?"

"East."

"Where are Ellen and Jo going?" _The only females in my life and I'll probably never see them again._ Cas' wing twitched beside me, nudging my arm ever so lightly as he slept in the seat beside me. Turns out he wasn't quite awake when Dean dragged him down the stairs just minutes ago.

"The other way." Sam said, glancing at me over the back of his seat. He sent me a sympathetic, reassuring half-grin. "They'll be okay. And so will we."

"I don't know if you realize this, but I'm almost fourteen weeks pregnant. Pregnant women aren't supposed to be in cars for longer than two hours at a time and I- I'm kinda freaking out here." _What if I give birth in the car? What if we never find a place to settle and we just-_

"Why?" Dean asked curiously, taking a second to look me up and down in the mirror.

"The two hour thing or the freaking out thing?" I asked quietly, trying to slow my pounding heart and quiet my racing mind.

The look I received in the mirror was the equivalent of rolling eyes and the bitch face all in one from my dearest adopted brother.

"So, uh, blood clots happen. And what if we can't find a safe place to stay until I pop?" My voice wavered, try as I might to control it. _Traitor._

"We'll find a place. You and the baby will be just fine, Ali. Don't worry about it too much, okay?" Sam said, giving me a calculating and endearingly intense once-over before returning his attention to the road. "We'll keep you safe."

"I don't doubt that." I said quietly, my hands wringing in my lap. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong." Dean didn't see the tear of frustration and fear slide down my cheek.

* * *

"Where are we?" I snapped awake at the sound of a door slamming. It'd been a long day of travel and after lunch, I'd eventually fallen asleep against Cas' soft feathers. He was awake then. He didn't seem to mind. And I no longer cared if the boys took embarrassing pictures of us. Sleep seemed much more important than my dignity at that point.

"Away." Dean said before shutting his door and following Sam towards what I quickly recognized as a motel office.

"Motel sweet motel." Grumbling, I stretched and let a yawn slip free.

Beside me, Cas sighed and scratched his fingers through his hair. "I am… tired."

"Same here, buddy." I said as I pushed open my car door and stepped out to finish stretching.

"Be careful, Allison. We don't know what's out there." Cas said, mimicking me and leaving the vehicle. His wings stretched out behind him, unconsciously.

I looked around quickly and discretely before motioning for Cas to get back in the car. "You're one to talk, fly-boy. How are we going to explain those wings away, huh?"

Cas returned to the car with a deep red on his cheeks.

I opened my door again, but didn't get in. I just leaned against the door frame and watched Dean through the office window as he laughed and joked with the manager while Sam rolled his eyes. "You have to be more careful, Cas. I can say I just look like the woman on the news, but you would have a lot of trouble explaining those black beauties."

"You… you think my wings are beautiful?"

I shrugged and looked up at the stars, or the patch visible through the clouds glowing with light from a nearby city. "Yeah."

I like to imagine that Cas smiled, but I couldn't tell.

Sam and Dean returned a few minutes later, Sam seeming to be rushing Dean down the sidewalk. They opened a door just a few doors down from the car and I shuffled over with my things while Dean passed me with a disapproving gaze.

"What?" I mumbled tiredly, halfway through the door.

"I saw you standing out in the open. Rebel."

I rolled my eyes and flopped down on my back on one of the beds, not even bothering to close the door.

It was an uneventful night. Cas knocked over a lamp with his wing, Dean drank like a fish, Sam was glued to his laptop and I watched I Love Lucy reruns on a snowy television.

Motel sweet motel.

* * *

For the next six weeks, we lived on the road. We never stayed for more than three nights in the same motel or the same town. After the first week of doing that, I'd gotten used to it. The four of us spent five days trying to locate Tristram and Francesca, trying to figure out how to get the upper hand in our battle. Unfortunately, there were no omens to be found, no demonic occurrences reported, no mass faintings in the news. They were covering their tracks well.

Dean called Bobby and Ellen, who agreed to help out with finding the demons. Bobby settled somewhere in Montana and Ellen and Jo ended up in Tennessee, using all their spare time to do exactly what we were trying to do.

When five days passed with nothing to show for it, we lost our steam. The guys summoned, interrogated, and exorcised at least ten demons, none of whom knew where Tristram or Francesca were, or who their lackies were. Of course they did the summoning a few hours away from where Cas and I stayed pent up in a motel, but even so, Sam put his foot down on not summoning one or both of the big bads for fear of putting me in greater danger, since it would give away our location and put all of us at risk of being taken and held for ransom, like I was.

With no leads to go on we resolved to only work on finding the demons a few hours out of every day instead of all day and night. There were still monsters in the world that needed ganking.

So the guys found a case and worked it, leaving Cas and me to research and provide support from our dingy motel room. That one was a poltergeist in a nursing home. Wrapped up in two days. I felt left out, but they said it was easy and they didn't need any help with this one.

After the second week, we still had no demon leads and the guys found another case a few states over. A werewolf was targeting game hunters, leaving the bodies hanging from their lookouts in the trees with no hearts. That case closed in three days. Dean only needed four stitches to a gash in his arm. I felt terrible for not being there to help, but Sam pointed out that if anything had happened to me, it would've been two hours to the nearest hospital. With Cas still out of commission in the healing and flying departments, that may have proved fatal for the baby, if not both of us. Sam made a good point, but I still didn't like it.

The third week held no eventful happenings for us. We just sat around, looking for demons and cases and watching TV in the great state of Arizona. Every other day, the guys would leave me with Cas and drive a few hours out to some inconspicuous place, different every time, and summon a few demons to interrogate and exorcise. Again, none of them could provide any helpful information.

Bored with watching television, I poked at my belly, trying to will my baby into moving, but it was still a little early to be feeling anything kick in there. Anything to break up the dullness of our days would've been a welcome change. No such luck.

Week four and five led us to northern California, where we worked a case involving changelings. I wasn't allowed out of Cas' sight or the motel room those whole two weeks; even though the baby hadn't been born yet and therefore couldn't be swapped for a changeling creature, Sam and Dean didn't want to take any chances with the case involving children. I was miserable. They were gone most of the time, having left us a few hours outside the town for safety. My heart desperately missed the guys and the rest of my body desperately missed Sam and his body. I was hornier than I'd ever been and had no source of release. I couldn't do anything with Cas watching me like a hawk all the time. Even though his angel eyes were starting to see little specks of my soul again, he still couldn't fly or heal anyone, let alone take away nausea or… other feelings. So I toughed it out and tried to resist telling Sam about my woes when we spoke each night on the phone, worried that it might distract him from the case. And… maybe I didn't want Dean or Cas to overhear any possibly blackmail worthy statements when Sam and I spoke on the phone, since I knew they were always nearby.

When the guys came back at the end of the fifth week, it was in the middle of the night. They didn't even bed down until morning. They stopped just long enough to pack us up and head to the next motel, several hours away. I cried quietly in the backseat, hating our new life and feeling terribly lonely as Sam and Cas slept in the rumbling vehicle. Cas' wings took up most of the backseat, leaving me leaning on the side door, feeling the soft, stiff flight feathers brush up against me whenever the car took a turn. From all the research we'd done on corporeal angel wings, we still had no idea when Cas would be strong enough to put them away again. Sure, he was eating less and sleeping less, but he was still eating and sleeping. That alone was a testament to just how far he remained from normalcy.

The radio was playing quietly while Dean drove in the seat in front of me. After a few long hours of driving, he glanced at me in the rearview mirror and did a double take. "Li, what's wrong? Why're you crying? It's late, you should be asleep." His voice was quiet, concerned. "Everything okay? You in pain?"

I just shook my head and looked out the window, embarrassed at having been found in that state. Miserable though I was, it took everything in me to try and keep that misery to myself. I didn't want them to feel bad for me. Really, I appreciated all they were doing to keep us safe. Keep _me_ safe. But I was reaching my breaking point and the closer I got, the harder it was to hide that fact.

"Is it about the case? All the kids made it back to their moms and dads, Li. It worked out perfect this time. No one died, thanks to you and Cas. If you hadn't found that changeling's cave behind the clinic on the map, it wouldn't turned out very different." Dean kept his voice soft, constantly looking between the road and the mirror to gauge my reaction. His words didn't change anything.

"That's great, Dean. Really, I'm glad everyone is okay. I'm just tired." I wiped my eyes and tried to send him a convincing smile.

"Bullshit." His tone was blunt, making me feel a little guilty.

I huffed and rubbed at my eyes with the heels of my hands. "I missed you guys."

"We know. You told us every week."

"Like a lot."

Dean looked at me again. "Is there somethin' you're not telling us? No more secrets, Li. I know it's been a while since we've just sat and talked, but that's still no excuse."

I shrugged and let my hands fall into my lap. "Fine. I… I hate all this moving around. You probably knew that, though. I feel like- y'know, I need to _nest_. I need to get ready to have this baby and I can't do that when we keep moving around like this. I'm getting bigger and things are getting harder to do. I'm not nauseous all the time anymore, but I'm hungry all the time and I have weird cravings and I'm hornier than hell and-" My eyes blew wide and I blushed like a school girl. "I wasn't- I didn't mean to tell you that last one."

Dean shifted awkwardly in his seat. "No, no, I get it, it's a hormone thing. Read all about it already. I just didn't think you had it. You've never said anything before, so I just assumed. Sorry for, uh, for keeping Sam away from you for so long."

I sighed and shrugged, not knowing what else to do. "S'okay. You're busy. I get it."

"If you don't mind my asking, when's the last time you two… uh, got together? I mean, it's supposed to release oxytocin, right? That's good for the baby. Bonding and all that shit, right? There's a reason for it."

My blush deepened as I struggled to remember the last time we were intimate. "Yeah, yeah, it's good for his development, good for me, too. So… Uh…"

"Been a while, huh?"

"Y-yeah. It was right before we had the baby talk in the kitchen. When, uh…" I wasn't sure why I was telling Dean all this. He'd already made it known that love-making in the bunker was not okay with him. "When Sam finally got up and ate after the siren attack."

"TMI, Li. So it's been like…"

"I was eleven or twelve weeks pregnant. I'm nineteen weeks now. Will be twenty tomorrow."

Dean's eyes looked back at me in the mirror, shock written all over his face. "Damn, Li. That's some dry spell. Is he gonna be okay, er…?"

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Baby will be fine, it's not absolutely necessary for _it_ to happen during pregnancy. And you guys are always around. Can't really get down to it if we are all in the same room. What, did you think we just had constant quickies when your back was turned?"

Dean chuckled. "Think I pissed the princess off a little bit. I guess I never really paid any attention to your sex life."

"Except when it makes you uncomfortable." I winked at him in the mirror.

He scoffed lightly and rolled his eyes. "Can't a man just live in his own home without having to think about what his brother is doing in the next room?"

I laughed, the sound filling my chest and lifting some of the weight from where I hadn't realized it had settled. "Absolutely not."

"At least the walls are thick. So, just out of curiosity, you can't… uh…" A thick blush that I could see even from just the glow of the radio filled Dean's cheeks. "You can't, I don't know… _help yourself_? Like- like you might hurt the baby or something? Sticking something up there?"

"Did you really just ask me if it's safe to masturbate during pregnancy?" My blush lit up to match his. _I cannot believe he just brought this up. Oh my gosh…_

"No! Yes- I don't know. Is it?" I could tell how uncomfortable he was talking about this. But then again, the man had gotten me tampons from the store more than a few times, so he was already used to some slightly less comfortable topics. It touched my heart a little that he was really trying to understand my problem. It was more than I expected of him, certainly.

"That didn't come up in all the research you did?"

"Obviously not."

"Huh. Well I… I mean, it's okay, as long as I don't do anything too rough. But I don't have any, uh, _products_ to help with that. And it's not the same release as I get with Sam. Oxytocin is a _bonding_ hormone, remember?"

"Oh. Right. Well, do you… do you want to go shopping for products? I'll take you, no questions asked. I just want you to be as comfortable as you can while we're doing our thing elsewhere, y'know?"

"I could come with you on hunts. That would make me very comfortable."

I earned a glare in the mirror. "No. Not with cops and demons on your tail and belly out to there. It's just not safe for you to hunt anymore, Li. We talked about this."

"Yeah, I know. Doesn't mean I agree with you, though. I'm just as capable as ever, Dean. I can still run and swing a blade and fire a gun and-"

"Get hurt and miscarry and die."

"C'mon, Dean."

"No. The answer is still no."

I huffed and sat back in my seat, glaring out the window at the stars and dark trees as they swept by. We didn't speak for a few minutes. Only the sound of the radio playing Dean's classic rock cassette collection touched my ears. Well, that and a few squeaky car noises as we hit bumps or potholes.

"Would you really take me shopping for that sort of thing?" I asked out of the blue, not looking away from the stars.

"I said I would, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did."

"Look, Li. I know this is hard on you. Moving all the time and being pregnant and not being able to do what you want, but that baby needs you more than we do right now. When you decided to keep him, you made your bed. Now you gotta sleep in it. We all gotta sleep in it."

"I'm sorry I dragged you into this-"

"Shut up, Li. I want this just as much as you do." In the rearview mirror, I saw Dean's eyes soften. "And you know it."

"Are you sure? Are you sure being just an uncle is really what you want? It's okay if you change your mind. You have every right." I breathed, my nerves suddenly getting the better of me. Anxiety squeezed hard in my chest and I looked to Dean like a lost child. How could I take his baby away from him and give it Sam when Dean was proving to be such a family man? "Because there are tests to tell who the father is."

"Sam's the father."

"But what if he isn't?"

"Li, leave it alone. This is what I want, okay?" His voice was gentle but rock steady, leaving no room for doubt. Not that I didn't have any, but still. "I'll still be there the whole time, I'll still love the little guy with everything I got, I'm not going anywhere. But I don't want him to grow up being confused because his Dad and Mom aren't together and his Mom and Uncle are. You understand what I'm saying, right?"

"Yeah. Okay." I whispered, eyes downcast and stinging a bit with some kind of unfounded rejection.

"It's just better this way."

I didn't answer because I didn't necessarily agree that it was better. Easier, yes. But better?

"Now, about those products. How soon you need 'em?"

I sighed again and looked over at Sam, then to Cas to make sure they were still sleeping. And they were. "Well, I'm hangin' on. I mean, it would be nice to have something, but…"

"But what?"

"I miss Sam."

"Not the same with a toy, huh?"

"Not even close."

"I'll see what I can do."

I sighed, letting my arms fall back to my sides as I pulled the trunk blanket up a little more on my lap. "Please don't try to get too involved, Dean. I don't want to mess anything up here."

"Hey, wanting to be with your man while in the family way is normal, from what I read. I've been keeping that from you. Haven't I?"

I shrugged and looked out the window again. "It's a group effort."

"Well, then getting you together will be a group effort, too."

"That just sounds wrong."

Dean chuckled softly and looked at me in the mirror with mischievous eyes. "We're gonna get you laid, sweetheart, if it's the last thing we do."

"Seriously, Dean? You had to put it like that?"

"What are brothers for?"

* * *

 **A/N: Toldja it was gonna be awkward...**

 **Leave me a review! Thanks loves! See you soon...**


	10. Release

**A/N: Vivi here! Been a while since I posted last, so here you go! Just a heads up, this chapter has a rather graphic sex scene and in depth detail about several of Ali's products.**

 **Same warnings apply. Language, violence, sex, blah blah blah...**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Previously on Enter the World:_

 _Dean chuckled softly and looked at me in the mirror with mischievous eyes. "We're gonna get you laid, sweetheart, if it's the last thing we do."_

 _"Seriously, Dean? You had to put it like that?"_

 _"What are brothers for?"_

* * *

The very next day, after arriving in a new, very small town, Dean told Sam and Cas he and I had some private business to attend to. Sam was suspicious, of course, but it flew right over Cas' head. Dean and I left them before lunch after we'd gotten some sleep. It was just like the good ol' days, but with more bathroom breaks; we jammed out in the Impala, flying down the freeway, having a good time and singing along to the music until my slightly compressed bladder got too full a few times. Dean found a little diner off the highway and we stopped for lunch, having two of the best burgers I'd ever tasted and some mediocre pie. Finally, we found an AdultMart and Dean led me in by the hand when I hesitated, my cheeks flushing bright red in nervous, embarrassed anticipation.

He told me I wasn't allowed to chicken out after how far we had to drive to get there.

In the end, we came out with my cheeks an even deeper shade of red and a bag of _products_ in Dean's hand. I was big enough that the store clerk could tell I was pregnant and she walked around the entire store with us, giving us advice on what was safe to use, what to avoid, and new toys, products, and positions to try now that my body was changing. Honestly, she was very knowledgeable and helpful and patient with us and all of the questions I wanted to ask but couldn't. Dean stepped up without me asking him to and posed those questions. She assumed Dean was my husband and he played along, even going so far as to put his arm around my shoulders when I started to look a bit too overwhelmed.

Out in the parking lot, I shook his arm off and let a huge shiver run down my spine at the sheer awkwardness of what we'd just gone through. Dean didn't seem to notice.

"We should've gotten that jelly-"

"Dean!"

"What?"

"Ugh."

He threw his head back and laughed before getting in the car. The bag was tossed in my lap. It took me a few minutes to even touch it. He'd picked almost everything out while I stood like a scared mouse behind him, nodding anxiously whenever he asked what I thought of a product. Thinking back, he picked up just about everything in the store and held it up so I would have to look at it. My skin was still crawling.

"Man, Li, that was a learning experience. Gonna use some of that info next time I get around."

"Please, Dean, can we just not talk about it?"

"I mean, did you see that pump? All that blood poolin' down there, ramping up the nerves. Whoa." A visible shiver went down Dean's spine for completely different reason than mine and he smiled like a fool while I blushed like a freaking virgin. "Kinda disappointed I don't get to see any of that used." He motioned to the bag in my lap.

"You got to see that stupid pump suck the bejeezus out of that silicon model." I gagged a bit at the image that jumped to my brain; it just looked so uncomfortable when the clerk showed us how to use it.

"Y'know, that's true."

"Hopefully no one will get to see any of _this_ used but me." I grumbled, pulling out a long rectangular box. It was a silicone vibrator, hot pink, modeled after the real thing, with like eighteen different modes to it. _I just want Sam… Ugh._

"What? You mean you're not gonna share your toys with Sammy? Sharing is caring, Li." Dean winked at me and I quickly put the vibrator away.

"I don't even know if he's into that sort of thing."

"Won't know until you ask."

"How am I gonna explain to him where I got these, huh?" The thought had never even crossed my mind. "Isn't it gonna be weird that you took me and not him?"

Dean shrugged. "Nah. Sammy's pretty laid back about me and you. He trusts us."

"So you don't think he'll flip that you picked out all the sex toys he's gonna be using on me?"

"Nope."

I sighed, unsure. Digging through the bag, I pushed a bottle of lube and the vibrator aside to get at another, smaller box in the bottom. It was another vibrator, but smaller, only a few inches long with no realistic contours to it. "What's this, again?" I figured after today, I would never bring up sex toys ever again, so I had to know what I got and how to use it now.

Dean glanced down before looking back to the road. "It's called a bullet, remember? The lady told us about it. For when you're further along and you shouldn't be putting anything too hard in your lady parts or against your cervix. You just push it against your, uh…"

"Clitoris?" I filled in, perfectly comfortable with the medical term.

"Uh, yeah, and then hang on."

"Right. And, uh, why did you put condoms in here? Are those for you?"

"No, they're special ones." Dean reached into the bag in my lap and rummaged around until he pulled the little box out, handing it to me as if I couldn't or wouldn't have picked it up otherwise. "Ribbed, studded, flavored, the whole nine. For when you wanna spice things up but you can't use a toy."

"I think I'm thoroughly uncomfortable now."

"Good." Dean laughed, eyeing me up and down before returning his eyes to the road. "If you weren't pregnant and banging my brother I'd call you a little virgin."

"Shut up, Dean."

* * *

We got back just before dinner, having stopped on the way home and gotten Chinese takeout in the next town over. Sam was relieved when we arrived no worse for wear.

"Mind telling me what that was all about? Should I be worried?" Sam came up close to me and asked as Dean disappeared into the bathroom. Cas sat against the headboard of the bed he and I shared, watching TV; Dean and Cas were too uncomfortable with Sam and I touching or doing things while they were in the room to let us sleep together. I hated it, but we didn't have money to constantly get two rooms and Sam was uncomfortable with all of us being separated like that just in case something happened and we needed help. So, I slept with Cas and Sam slept with Dean.

Nervous, I walked over to the little table in the room and picked up the bag from where Dean had set it down, handing it to Sam wordlessly. Trying my best to be patient, I waited for his reaction.

He dug through the bag and frowned. "What's all this?"

 _Shit. I made a mistake showing him. Shit shit shit-_ "Uh, they're, um… they're toys."

"I can see that." He looked into my eyes, his expression unreadable. "You and Dean went to get these? You need these?"

My mouth opened but no words formed. After a few attempts, I just shut it and couldn't look in Sam's direction. My fingers wrung around themselves in front of me and I bit my lip. _I messed up bigtime._

"Ali, it's okay to need release. Trust me, I'm glad you're gonna be using these and not seeking out… other company, but why didn't you tell me how you felt?" Sam tossed the bag onto the bed he and Dean shared. "Why did you tell Dean before you told me?"

"It just came up in conversation." I shrugged, my voice so quiet and weak I felt like crying. "He offered to take me to get some stuff and I said yes." Eyes downcast, I couldn't bear to look at the disappointment on his face.

"Hey." Gentle fingers lifted my chin and before I knew it I was being kissed, one of his hands in my hair, holding me close, and the other keeping my chin up so I didn't pull away. I let my hands wind around his back, pulling myself flush with his body. It was getting harder to hug like that, with my belly in the way, but we managed every now and then. When he moved away, I whimpered at the loss and my glossy eyes met his. "I haven't been there for you. I'm sorry."

I sniffed my nose, tears starting to form in my eyes. "No, it's- I'm sorry, Sam. I should've told you but I was scared it would throw you off and you'd get hurt on a case."

"Ali." He searched my eyes for a few seconds before continuing. "You are more important than any case we get. If you need something, tell me. Okay?"

"Okay." I whispered, a few tears leaking down my face.

"Okay."

* * *

That night, Dean made good on his promise. He hustled Cas into the car, saying he'd been cooped up too long, and took off.

Finally.

I got Sam alone. No Dean. No Cas. Just us.

"Think he did it on purpose?" Sam asked out of the blue. He was tapping away at his laptop, sat squarely on the rickety old table in the kitchenette. He didn't even look up.

I was stretched out on the bed, pretending to read. I had chosen to completely forget about the demon lore book in my hands in favor of coming up with a subtle way of seducing that mop-headed hunk. I'd been going through my options for about twenty minutes now, trying to find one that would work and pull Sam from his research on Tristram and Francesca and back to me. "Huh?"

"Dean."

It took a long moment for me to figure out what he was talking about. Then I grinned. _He beat me to it._ "Probably."

This time, Sam's eyes met my own. He smiled and shut the laptop with a firm click. "About time."

He was on me in seconds, the ancient book tossed onto the covers next to us. "I missed you." I whispered, winding my arms around his back as he settled over me, not crushing me but holding me close with a gentle firmness. I'd never felt more treasured.

"Missed you, too." Sam kissed my neck and sent goosebumps down my side, eliciting a soft moan. "Finally get some quality time…"

Before I realized what he was talking about, Sam's weight was gone from my chest, my fingers sliding off of his back. "Where are you…?"

He didn't go far. Sam sat back on his heels and pushed my shirt up over my belly, revealing the soft curve beneath. "Hey, champ." The hunter's voice was soft, his nose brushing the bump as a brilliant smile lit up his face. "Miss me?"

"You know he did. He loves it when you talk to him. And when you touch my belly."

Sam smoothed his hands over my little bump, pushing with just enough pressure to make sure the baby knew he was there. "You been letting Mommy get some peace and quiet? Don't wear her out, bud. We need her too, y'know." His voice was soft and low, thumbs brushing over the sides of my belly as he kissed it up and down.

"Oh, he knows. He leaves me enough time between bathroom breaks to help you guys out."

Sam chuckled. "She's using all her energy to help you grow and keep you safe, buddy. Me and Uncle Dean and Uncle Cas are all tryin' to keep you safe in there, okay? So you can grow up big and strong just like Daddy. I bet you're a fighter already." He bent down and pressed his nose into the soft flesh just above my belly button, grinning all the while.

"Well, I don't know about that. He's definitely got the family petulance. Little guy hasn't even moved for me yet." I said quietly, putting my hands over Sam's at my sides.

He looked up at me, concerned. "Really?"

"Yeah, I would've told you if he had. It's kind of a big deal." I shrugged.

"Is that… is that normal? You're what, like… twenty weeks now?"

"Nineteen. I'll be twenty tomorrow."

"That's halfway, right? Is something wrong? Do you need to go see a doctor?"

"No, it can be normal to take this long. If he doesn't move in the next week, I'll have Cas-" I stopped short. Cas couldn't monitor my pregnancy anymore. He didn't have enough angel juice to see all of my soul yet, much less see the baby. "I guess Cas can't check on him anymore. I'll go to a local ER or an urgent care or something and get an ultrasound. See what's going on. I'm sure he's fine in there." Doubt crept up in my mind, clouding anything and everything.

"Do you have any way of telling if something isn't going right? Can you feel anything wrong, er…?"

 _Oh, right. The tattoo. It hasn't pulled at all in weeks. He's just fine._ I smiled as I realized that if anything had been wrong, the tattoo would've told me by now. "I have the tattoo on my leg that tugs when something is wrong. It tells Cas, too. You know what, Sam? He's just fine. I am one hundred percent sure."

That seemed to be enough to calm Sam for the time being. "Okay. As long as you're sure."

"I am."

"Good." He turned back to my belly and kissed it long and hard, pressing his lips into my skin. "Man, I can't wait to hold you in my arms and hear that war cry. You got a big family out here, you know that right? And we're already totally obsessed with you."

"Kid can do no wrong." I joked, giggling a bit at Sam's words.

"He'll be so spoiled." Sam looked back to me and smiled that huge, dopey smile of his. "You both will be. Once everything calms down and we've killed those sons of bi-"

"Language, Winchester." I chastised, pretending to cover my belly and protect the kid's innocence.

He just rolled his eyes before locking with mine and losing all humor. "Once both of you are safe, we can settle down, if you want. Anywhere you want."

"I want to go home, Sam. To the bunker. To you and Dean and Cas, every single day." My words were soft, quiet, and wholeheartedly true.

"Ali…"

"It's the safest place for us. For all of us."

"If that's what you want."

"That's what I want." I whispered, rubbing my hands over my belly. "That's what _he_ wants."

"Then we'll go home as soon as it's safe." Sam grinned and kissed my belly a few more times before kissing his way up to my neck and tangling his fingers in my hair. "So… still in the mood, right?"

"Uh, yeah." I said like it wasn't even a question. "I've been hornier than a hound dog for weeks."

"Weeks, you say? Better get to it, then." He smooched my neck a few times in rapid succession before pausing. "So, uh, we've _done it_ a few times since you've been pregnant, right? I mean, not since I knew, but…"

"Yeah. Twice, technically."

"So then, I didn't hurt him, right? With my… uh, actions?"

I giggled and pulled his face to mine for a deep kiss, sliding my tongue over his lower lip until he relaxed his jaw and met me in the middle. When we parted after a while, I just smiled. "Sex is perfectly safe in most pregnancies. The movements actually lull some babies to sleep."

"So I rock your body and you rock him to sleep at the same time?" Sam chuckled. "That's totally weird."

"You're tellin' me."

"Does he feel, uh…" Sam looked around as if the word he was looking for was on the tip of his tongue and he just didn't want to say it. "The, uh…"

"The orgasm?"

Blush pooled on Sam's face, his embarrassed grin looking positively enchanting on his ruddy complexion. "Yeah."

"He'll feel the muscle spasms I'll have. He might feel you a little if you bottom out too hard. But those things won't bother him much. He's in a bubble, remember? Perfectly padded on all sides." I took one of Sam's hands and captured it between my own hand and my belly, palm down. Then I pushed his palm and fingers deep into the bump until he jumped a bit. "That's him."

"He- you can- you can _feel_ him like that? Is that safe?" Sam's eyes were full of panic and awe.

"Yeah, it's fine. Just wait until he gets a little bigger. You'll be able to feel feet and hands and his head and everything. Gently, of course. You can't push too hard on him, but you see how much pressure I had to use? He'll be fine with this."

"Man… there's a real actual baby in there." Sam said quietly, looking down at me with big, amazed eyes.

"Well, duh." I laughed. "We're pregnant, remember?"

"Yeah. So we can…?"

"I don't see why not. I'll tell you if I think we need to stop."

A wicked grin spread across his face before he moved to talk to my belly one more time. "I'm gonna wreck your mommy tonight, kiddo. Hang on to something."

"Really?" Laughter bubbled up in my chest and I rolled my eyes. "C'mere, Winchester." I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him close, kissing him again and again, letting him explore my mouth as we took our time. My hands slid down to his waist, then up under his shirt, tracing each muscle and running my nails down his chest in want. His hand traced my side, slid under the waist of my pants and pushed them down just a bit before moving more centrally and diving deeper. I gasped as his fingers worked their way down until one digit landed on my clit, lazily moving up and down, side to side, and driving me wild.

"Need you, Sam." I murmured into his ear, my hands moving frantically to undo the buckle on his pants as I squirmed under his touch. "Please. Want you so bad."

"I'm going to take my time with you. I want you blissed out by the end of the night. I want that kid totally rocked to sleep when we're through."

"Okay." My voice was little more than a heated whisper. I'd already gotten the buckle undone and was moving to the button of his jeans when his hand left my womanhood and covered my own hands, pushing them away from the button.

"Not yet. You first."

Sam moved away, removing his shirt quickly to expose his perfect body. There were little tracks running down his chest from my fingernails, bright red against tanned flesh. With a lustful smile, Sam reached under me and grasped either side of my pants, prompting me to lift my bottom. He certainly was taking his time; he pulled the jeans and lacy black underwear off slowly, his fingertips leaving little rows of goosebumps all down my legs.

It had been so long since I'd been exposed to him like I was now. Blush flooded my face and neck and I held my knees together so tightly that it hurt a little. _What if he doesn't like how I'm changing? What if it grosses him out? I mean, I've gained some weight and he could totally get a girl much prettier than me if he wanted. Maybe- maybe if we turn out the lights, it'll be easier on him._ Glancing to my side, I found the switch for the bedside lamp and turned it out, bathing the room in darkness.

I felt Sam shift and the light was back on again, momentarily blinding me. His face was inches from mine when he spoke, eyes tearing into my very soul. "I want to see every moment of this. Every gasp, every moan, every twitch, every heave of your chest. Every flex of your belly and curl of your toes. I don't want to miss one bit, Ali. Not tonight."

"Are you sure?" I whispered, swallowing hard against the nervous lump in my throat. "My body… it's changed since you saw it last. More than just my belly growing."

"I know you've gained some weight to help the baby grow. I know you probably have some new stretch marks. I know how hard it is for you to shave now that you can hardly see your own feet. That's normal, babe. My love for you isn't based on physical stuff anyways. I love _you_ , not your body. Although, it is nice to look at. And it's got my kid in it." Sam winked at me and I let out the breath I'd been holding.

"Okay." I focused on breathing for a few seconds, trying to will my tense legs to release and fall aside. It seemed to be pointless until Sam moved down my body, trailing kisses from my jaw all the way down. That action alone was enough to relax my anxious stomach and my quivering thighs. Sam ran his hands up my legs on either side slowly, gently, until they came to the middle and carefully forced themselves between my knees. He spread my legs firmly, pushing them far to either side while he moved over me, between them, kissing first my belly, then my lips before moving down again.

"What are you…?" I started, only to have my eyes roll back in my head and a low moan escape my throat. With his tongue, he traced out my slit and circled my clit a few times before sucking gently and releasing me.

"Is this okay?" He asked, rubbing up and down the insides of my shaky thighs as I struggled to form words.

I ended up just nodding fervently.

I heard a soft chuckle before the tongue was back to caressing, exploring, pressing on my womanhood in ways I'd never experienced before. He circled my clit with the tip before moving the full length of his tongue, rough with taste buds, along it. I cried out, my thighs trying to clench down on his head. He moved his arms up to keep them open which was the most delicious torture I could think of.

With him sucking, circling, and lapping at my womanhood, it didn't take long before a good amount of slick was coating my center and my inner thighs. I noticed that little fact just as he thrust his tongue into my wet heat and I almost blacked out.

"Holy shit, Sam." I panted quickly, my hands moving down to work their way into his hair and pull him back from the sensitive area he was currently ravaging. My lady parts had gotten so much more responsive to pressure when I hit seventeen weeks, just all of a sudden. It was almost too much. Sam was strong, that much I knew; even so, I didn't want to pull too hard on his hair and hurt him. He was doing this for me after all. Instead, I just clung to his head and slowed him down a bit.

I'd broken out in a sweat, my pulse through the roof when he finally lapped at me one more time and I moaned his name, waves upon waves of pleasure rushing through me. My womanhood clenched down on nothing, feeling terribly empty, spasming with each pulse as Sam continued to suck gently, milking my orgasm for all it was worth. I felt my belly clench and unclench a few times as I dragged in breath after breath.

 _That's one. Hope you're not keeping track there, champ. I have a feeling it's going to be a long night._

"Tell me you're mine. Make be believe." Sam's voice was husky, deeper than normal and thick with lust. His eyes, greedy with pupils blown wide, met mine as I watched my slick drip from his chin. He wiped his mouth on the sheets and threw the bunched up fabric aside.

"I'm yours, Sam. All yours. Only yours. You're the one."

Sam paused, going still, a hand supporting him on either side of my hips. His expression was one of shock, surprise, no longer lust-ridden. "What?"

Still reeling a bit from my first orgasm in literally months, I had to think about what I'd said and why that may be a surprise to him. "Did I- did I cross a line?" I whispered nervously. "I mean, I-"

He crashed down on me without putting any pressure on my belly, kissing me roughly and entangling his hands in my hair. The taste of myself on his lips was strange, new, but there was no way I was letting go now. I was gasping for breath when he finally let up and grinned like a kid on Christmas day. "No. It's exactly what I wanted to hear."

We held on, kissing, for a long time; every minute of it ebbed away at the stress and fatigue of the last few days. It was just us, alone in the world. Happy and thriving. Just Sam and me, with a baby on the way.

"You're mine."

"Of course. Always."

"Beautiful, deadly, brilliant, irresistible…"

"All for you, love."

"Where have you been all my life?"

I grinned against his mouth and pressed my forehead to his, arching my back to push him just far enough away to access his fly. He got the picture quickly enough, finally agreeing to remove his pants as I pulled off my shirt, and soon we were both enjoying the soft, hot brush of skin on skin as we moved, grinding lightly in our underclothes and getting as much contact as possible.

"You're sure we can do this?"

"I'm sure we _need_ to do this. Do you want me to, um, do to you what you did to me?" I had no qualms about giving Sam a blowjob- not that I'd ever done it before- but I wasn't sure that's what he wanted. I _really_ wanted some key and lock action, but if he didn't…

Sam scoffed. "Tonight is about you, Ali."

"You sure? I want you to feel good, too."

"I will. Don't worry about that. I saw condoms in the bag. Do we need those?" Sam asked, his voice sounding unsure.

"Not this time. You're still clean, right?" My voice waivered at the question, suddenly unsure. What if he'd had the same cravings that I had while he was gone and he just… took care of them with someone else?

"Ali, I haven't been with anyone but you in _any_ way since the first time we met."

That little fact struck me a bit. "Really? Why?"

He put on a shit-eating grin and moved to kiss and suck at my neck before answering. "Do you believe in love at first sight?"

I grimaced, confused. "Uh, no. Do you?"

That got me a hearty, carefree laugh. "No. But there was something about you I liked, even way back then. I just couldn't look at other girls the same after that."

"Wow." I breathed, incredibly turned on by that little revelation.

"So no condom?"

"Unless you want me to get pregnant." We both laughed at that attempt of a joke. "No, I want to feel _you_ , Sam. Want to be filled up with all you got." I leaned forward and bit his earlobe before whispering in his ear. "Want it to run down my legs for _days._ "

"Damn, babe. You have no idea how hot that is."

Every time we were together I was amazed by how Sam could use his physique to be both incredibly strong and exceedingly gentle. I'd told Cas earlier in the week that I couldn't lay on my back for very long anymore, my belly having grown too big for that to be comfortable, and somehow everyone now knew. Sam wound one arm under my back and helped me sit up effortlessly. At first, I was confused as to what was going on, but then he pressed me to him and told me to hold on tight. He flipped us around so that he was laying on the bed and I was sitting on top of him, straddling his already hardened manhood, tented in his boxers. He steadied me with one big hand on either of my hips, both of my hands resting on his chest.

"Are you- did you read about this?" I asked, amused at the familiar positioning. It was a common pregnancy pose, just like all fours and laying on one's side.

A light blush came over his cheeks and neck as he ran his hands up and down my sides and thighs. "I may have. I want you to be comfortable."

"Well I am very comfortable now. But, I mean, I could be _more_ comfortable…" My eyes flashed downwards and back up as my hands wandered to Sam's manhood, weaving my way into his fly and taking it, pulling slightly. That earned me a groan as Sam's eyes rolled back just a little. His eyelids fluttered and his mouth dropped open a bit at the lightest contact.

I released him, much to his audible dismay, and pushed his hands off of my thighs. My fingers dipped below the waistband of his boxers and pulled, removing the pesky undergarments once and for all. I tossed them to the floor.

Drool started to pool in my mouth at just the sight of him.

"No fair." Sam said playfully, sitting up and reaching around me to expertly unclasp my bra. I let him take it off and was rewarded with a hand on either of my sensitive breasts, kneading and squeezing lightly. Even that left me breathless as my nipples hardened from that tiny bit of friction alone. My eyes slid closed for a split second.

Then an arm was around my back, steadying me. I opened my eyes just in time to see Sam take one of my nipples in his mouth, circling it with his tongue before biting lightly. I cried out at the explosion of sensation and flung my head back, breathing hard. Both my hands hit his shoulders and pushed, the feeling a little too much, but his arm behind my back held him firmly in place. His other hand moved to thumb over the other nipple, leaving me a quivering, whimpering mess. I felt my womanhood clench desperately, confused at all the sensations that were so sexually pleasing but not from her.

He released my nipple after a while, looking up at me on my knees as I slowly came down from that experience. When I finally looked at him, he smiled. "You're more into it now."

"I told you, my body has changed. Everything is more intense." I said, still a bit out of breath.

"Hmm. They look bigger." He said, looking at my breasts, which were currently at eye level for him. "When does your milk come in?"

 _Strange question._ "After the baby is born." I said, shaking my chest a bit to tease him.

Sam seemed to deflate a bit.

I laughed, somehow knowing what he wanted. "And no, you can't suckle from me until _after_ the baby's been fed. I hear breast milk tastes terrible, anyway."

"I won't know until I try it." Sam said mischievously. A few seconds later, worry came across his face. "That doesn't weird you out, does it? Cuz I don't have to…"

"I don't mind as long as the baby gets what he needs. It might even be… nice." I shrugged. "I won't know until we try it."

"I can't wait."

"There's something I can't wait for, too. I'm still wearing panties." I said, faking a pout. "Whatcha gonna do about that?"

Sam bit his lip and put his hands on either side of my hips. He tucked two fingers into my black silky panties and kissed my belly as he slowly slid them down. My eyes closed and I hummed my approval, resting my forearms on his solid shoulders.

Once there was no longer an obstacle between us, I pushed Sam down rather roughly, earning a quiet grunt. I bent over him and ran my hands up his chest, weaving them into his hair and tugging lightly as I pressed my lips on his.

"You gonna take me or not?" I asked, breathlessly, feeling the heat between us and craving more.

"You'll tell me if it's too much. If I hurt you." He said, searching my eyes.

"Yes."

"It's been a while. Need stretching?"

"Please?"

Without another word, Sam's right hand left my hip and caressed the front of my thigh all the way to my slit, dipping one finger in tantalizingly slow. He waited for my body to relax a bit before pushing in further, down to the knuckle. I moaned and dug my nails into his chest, pushing down on his hand as he used the tip of his finger to circle my cervix curiously, as if it was the first time he'd found it. Then the finger was gone, replaced with two. He scissored them open a few times as my body adjusted, the canal loosening more easily than it had in the past. Once those fingers were removed, I nodded and readjusted myself.

Lifting myself up a bit, feeling Sam squeeze my thighs and help lift me, I maneuvered Sam's length to press against its target. Then I slowly lowered myself down, feeling the irresistible pressure build as I put more and more weight on Sam. Finally, after what seemed like minutes but was actually only a few seconds, he bottomed out and I could breathe again.

Sam could breathe again, too. His fingers dug deep into my hips, harder than I thought he meant to, hard enough to leave red marks but not bruises. "Shit, Ali. So tight. Hot."

"Move, Sam." I breathed, pulling his hands from my hips and pressing them firmly on my breasts. "Take me."

He did as he was told. Since learning about the baby, his technique had changed slightly. Much less rough- which was actually a little disappointing- and slower. Like he wanted to make sure the baby knew he was wanted and loved and protected before making sure I knew the same. He kept up the slow pace, eventually removing his hands from my chest and moving to support my tiring legs at my hips, holding me up just enough so he wouldn't push too hard on my cervix and hurt me.

It was bliss, it was torture, it was everything I'd needed for last eight weeks. But after a few minutes of bouncing in Sam's lap, my legs couldn't support me anymore and I had to stop. "Sam- hold up a minute." I panted, putting my hands flat on his chest to keep him from continuing.

"Tired?"

"Yeah."

"Back, doggy, or side?" He asked simply, showing no sign of being disappointed in my lack of endurance.

"I can do back for a while."

Gracefully and swiftly, Sam rolled us over, pushing the demon lore book onto the floor and out of the way in the process. Then he was right back to it, going slow, being so gentle I might as well be a porcelain doll.

So I picked up the pace, thrusting harder and faster against him than he was into me. He got the message. Soon I was getting pounded into the mattress, crying out and gasping and groaning at the friction I'd so missed. Sam's back had to be bleeding with all the times I'd drawn my nails across it.

"Don't stop. Don't stop." I gasped, feeling a delicious heat build in my womanhood. All at once, with one particularly deep thrust, I came. Stars danced in my vision as I screamed his name, finally clenching down on something thick and strong, heightening the orgasm to a whole new plane.

It wasn't long after I'd come down from my second orgasm that he followed, his whole body tensing above and in mine. He held his breath until his member stopped pulsing inside me, letting out a massive, shaky breath when he was done. He'd never knowingly sent his swimmers freely into me before, and the sensation was… intense. I felt it spread out, coat he and I all over inside me, with some even leaking onto the bed beneath me.

"Fuck." Sam grunted once he caught his breath.

I just laughed at the exhausted smile on his face. "You can say that again."

"Fuck." Sam repeated with a laugh. "Ali, I really meant to go longer but _damn_. You're a lot more shallow and… and stronger than last time and it was driving me crazy."

"I liked it too, love." I pulled his head down for a kiss before letting him go. He didn't go far.

With a hand on either side of my belly, he kissed it gently and rubbed his thumbs over it. "Sorry about all the cussin', buddy. Your mom's a fox. Hope you're all rocked to sleep now. G'night, champ."

I couldn't help but smile.

Sam sat back on his heels and used the sheet to wipe himself off before laying down beside me, kissing my temple and pulling the clean section of sheets over us both. "Have you thought about a name yet?" He whispered.

That wiped the smile right off my face. "Uh, no. Why, have you?"

"Not really."

"Do you think we should start?"

"Not tonight."

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed it. Leave me a review! If I get a lot of comments, it might motivate me to post sooner...**


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